


Shattered Mirrors

by therealassistant



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Also there are major spoilers for the game in this, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Multi, Psychological Manipulation, Tags Will Update As Story Progresses, bodyswap au, its ouma not oma, make up for oumasai week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-06-01 06:25:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15137090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealassistant/pseuds/therealassistant
Summary: Following the events of the fourth class trial, the Mastermind feels as if they are slowly losing control, the reins of the killing game torn out of their hands by Kokichi Ouma. To change that, they decide to add in a little motive of their own, unaware of how much trouble it would actually cause them in the end.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I told yall that I would write a fic to make up for oumasai week, didn't I?
> 
> Updates for this fic will be quite sporadic, but expect at least two updates this week, since those are already ready to go and such.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> disclaimer: i own nothing

If you had asked Tsumugi Shirogane early on in the killing game what word she would use to describe Kokichi Ouma, she would say “annoying” without second thought, even if she herself had a hand in designing his character.

Now though, as she was staring up at the Motherkuma, she was realizing that “annoying” wasn’t quite the right word. Annoying implied that Kokichi was at least somewhat oblivious to the trouble he was causing everyone, most especially her.

No, Kokichi Ouma was not annoying, he was just plain troublesome. Even on the brink of meddlesome. At the time, she had viewed that character trait as a nice twist to her killing game, something that would make things interesting, and would have him killed during the fifth trial to prove some sort of idiotic point she had implanted into his mind.

Yet that’s not what happened, and she can only guess what Kokichi had in store for her killing game, based off what the Nanokumas had sent her. And while ratings have skyrocketed, that wasn’t enough for her, because this was her killing game, and hers alone, not Kokichi Ouma’s.

So while planning to get rid of Kokichi Ouma, she had to do it in a way that wouldn’t upset the fans. Simply killing him off wouldn’t be interesting. She would have to involve him in some sort of motive. Maybe implant some memories into the other remaining survivors so they could get rid of him?

No, that just wasn’t interesting enough. There’s no twist, nor was there any way for that to tug at not only the audience’s heart strings, but also the heart strings of the characters she herself had created. That, and it could possibly clash with the plot she had in store for the rest of the killing game.

Maybe she could reuse a past motive from a former killing game? There was the motive from season 2, with the despair disease, but they’ve used that pretty recently in season 52, so it probably wasn’t a good idea to bring it back so soon…

Should she use something from a recent season? She didn’t really enjoy anything between season 33 to 39, but maybe there was a few interesting motives…

”... Ah!”

Even alone, she can’t help the loud exclamation from leaving her mouth as it hit her, followed by a somewhat twisted smile.

”What? What is it?”

The voice that comes from Motherkuma is quite jarring, but Tsumugi pays no mind to it as she rummages through her pockets before she finally finds what she needs.

The bright light from her Monopad as it turns on almost stings her eyes, but it’s overwhelmed by her current state of euphoria as she turns to the map section of her Monopad.

Kokichi’s icon dashes back and forth across the field next to the boiler room, reflecting its unpredictable owner, while Shuichi’s icon remained still in the building with the dorm rooms, most likely sulking about the events of the previous class trial. Everyone else’s icons were somewhat scattered across the school, with a few others in the dorm room area with Shuichi’s, yet none of them were on the second floor of the school.

Perfect.

###### 

”... Hey…”

Kokichi mumbles under his breath, slapping the hand that was poking his face away before turning in the opposite direction, burying himself deeper into the blankets on top of him. “Go ‘way…”

”Now now, that’s no way to talk to your headmaster..!”

Kokichi’s eyes shot open, shooting up so fast in his bed that he nearly pushed Monokuma over in the process, with said robotic bear wobbling around just a bit before he finally regains his footing, brandishing both a demonic look and his claws as he glared at the boy on the bed. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

Even if Kokichi wasn’t in the best of moods, something about seeing the bear in a somewhat haggard state brought a hint of a genuine smile to his face, which only helped his fake one seem bigger as he crossed his arms behind his head. “Oh, besides the whole being trapped in a killing game thing, I’m just peachy, why do you..?”

He slowly trails off, a confused look taking over his face as Monokuma’s somewhat demonic look faded away, replaced by something somewhat resembling a smug smirk. “Ah, I see that you’re finally noticing the next motive!” The bear then holds up a mirror in his hand, cackling madly. “Haaaaaaa, hahaha! This’ll teach ya to mess with Monokuma!”

His confusion only grows as he has to actually bend down just a bit to see his reflection in Monokuma’s mirror, only for his breath to hitch in his throat once he saw his reflection in the mirror.

”... Is this your idea of a joke?”

”Oh, so now the ultimate supreme leader is serious, huh?”

He can’t help the scowl that makes its way onto his face, and he almost flinches as his reflection in the mirror mimics it, because his face now doesn’t really reflect that. A face that is used to holding compassion shouldn’t have such cruel expressions on his face.

But then again, the owner of the face also told Kokichi that he was now alone, but then again, it was after he…

Kokichi quickly shakes his head, shutting his eyes as he took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay in the present, because he knew that if he lingered on the past, he wouldn’t come back.

This was fine, actually, he could still make this work with the plan he had set in motion. He clearly remembered finishing his message on the stone next to the boiler room, and if what he could assume about Monokuma’s new motive was correct, then he would have to get Shuichi to work with him.

The idea of working with anyone honestly terrified Kokichi, considering how the last person he worked with ended up getting themselves killed because of him, as well as the fact that he hadn’t exactly figured out who the Mastermind even was.

But then again, Shuichi was the only person he considered somewhat trustworthy, and the only real problem was getting the other to work along with him without shattering his own facade of lies that he had built since the third trial ended, just in case he was wrong about Shuichi.

”... Hey, kid, you in there? I haven’t quite finished explaining the motive-”

Kokichi’s scoff interrupts whatever the bear has to say, snatching the mirror out of the robot’s hands. “Let me guess, the motive remains in effect until someone is dead, right? Man, you’re getting so predictable now, Monokuma…”

He then ignores whatever response the bear gives him in favor of looking back down at his reflection in the mirror, staring down at it for a few moments longer before he pulls the guise of the mastermind over his face.

Shuichi’s face in the mirror smiles back wickedly, a dark shadow coming over the top of his face, the look startling Kokichi just enough that he immediately stops doing it.

”... Welp, that’ll definitely take some getting used to.”

###### 

Shuichi doesn’t know how long he’s been laying down in bed, staring up at the ceiling above him with what feels like a blank expression on his face. Besides the morning announcement that played awhile ago, he really had no way of knowing what time it was, and no one had knocked on his door to tell him that breakfast was about to begin.

Then again, after what happened with Gonta last night, he’d be surprised if anyone would talk to him ever again.

Recalling what happens last night doesn’t help his mood either, if anything, it just makes him want to sink into the bed even more.

Maybe if he sank into the bed far enough, he’ll eventually suffocate and join Gonta in the afterlife, just so he could apologize to the gentle giant about the fate he had basically forced him to have.

... No, he couldn’t think like that. If he hadn’t revealed the truth, then everyone else would have died instead, and Gonta wouldn’t have wanted that. He would have wanted everyone to continue fighting Monokuma.

That, and it was mostly someone else’s fault that Gonta died. Namely, it was the fault of a certain supreme leader, who’s laugh now sends a chill down Shuichi’s spine whenever he remembers it.

He recalls a time where his uncle had told him about the different types of criminals, about how there were criminals who would actually had a proper motive. Maybe they were having money troubles, or wanted revenge for something that happened. While neither were excuses, it was still understandable in Shuichi’s eyes.

Then there were the criminals who committed crimes just for the pleasure of it. Ones who relished in watching others be tortured and slaughtered mercilessly.

At this point, Shuichi was sure that Kokichi Ouma now fell into the latter category, and the free time he had spent with the much shorter young man only supported it. After all, Kokichi never really did anything but mess with Shuichi just for the hell of it, existing only to terrorize not only Shuichi, but everyone else.

It was with that thought that Shuichi finally felt enough determination to get out of bed, one of his hands gripping the bed sheets below him while he slowly sat up.

Only for him to suddenly stop as he sees the mess in front of him.

What looks like a landfill at first slowly begins to take form in Shuichi’s mind, and it’s only when he sees the inner tube Kirumi used to transfer Ryoma’s dead body does it seem to click that what he was looking at exactly was evidence from the past class trials.

”...What is..?”

He stops at the sudden voice, turning around to face whoever had spoken, only to nearly jump out of bed in shock once he comes face to face with Rantaro, a sharp yell leaving his mouth as he nearly fell out of bed.

It takes him a few seconds to collect himself, and a few seconds more for him to realize that he was looking at the wax effigy Angie had made for Rantaro before the third class trial, but it is the last thing on his mind as he continues to look around the room for who had spoken before.

”... Hello..?”

He slaps his hands over his mouth, his eyes widening just a bit as realization dawned on his face.

He was the one who had spoken, but that was not his voice.

That was Kokichi’s voice, he would recognize it anywhere. Yet now it sounded… Different. It sounded a lot more calmer, more flat than usual, like whenever Kokichi himself was having his few moments of serious behaviour.

It also sounded extremely wrong, considering that Kokichi’s voice came out of Shuichi’s mouth.

Slowly, he removed his hands from his mouth, looking down at them only to freeze up once again, his heart nearly skipping a beat as he saw that his arms were now a deathly pale, his usual pitch black shirt replaced by a white jacket.

He doesn’t think twice as he ran towards the nearest reflective surface, that being the TV on the shelf, only to trip on a stack of papers.

His hands slam into the TV, barely steadying him enough so that he could stand up properly and look at the TV at the same time. And yet, as he finally sees his reflection, he begins to wish that he tripped on the papers and fell flat on his face. Because this couldn’t be true, he was in some sort of nightmare, and that would most certainly wake him up.

Because Kokichi Ouma stares right back at him, mimicking the horrified look that comes over Shuichi’s face in a way that doesn’t fit Kokichi’s.

Slowly, as if to test what he was seeing, he slowly raises his hand, waving it towards what was on the TV.

In response, Kokichi raised his own hand, waving in return.

The air in Shuichi’s lungs suddenly seems sparse as he stumbles away from the reflection of the TV, unable to tear his gaze away until he once again trips on the pile of papers, this time falling onto his back with a painful thud.

Yet he barely feels the pain, flinching just a bit as he screwed his eyes shut, trying to form some sort of explanation to what was in front of him. Regardless of what he thought of though, nothing he thought of could truly rationalize what exactly he was seeing, and him dreaming was out the window, considering how the pain he felt from falling over would have probably woken him up.

”... Huh, this is kind of sad to watch.”

Shuichi’s eyes snap open at the voice, only for him to, once again, freeze up once he saw, well, himself.

Or, he thinks it’s him. The somewhat teasing smile his lookalike has doesn’t really fit onto his face, stretching it in ways that didn’t seem possible, like some sort of clay monster. That look in the other’s eyes didn’t fit either, although it was somewhat familiar...

”... Kokichi..?”

His lookalike’s, or rather, Kokichi’s smile seemed to grow at Shuichi’s words, causing a shiver to go down his spine as Kokichi stands up straight. “The one and only. So, what do you think of my new motive?”

”... Y-Your new…” Shuichi’s words trail off as he continues to stare up at the ceiling as Kokichi walks away, followed by a dull thud as Kokichi takes a seat somewhere in the room.

It takes a moment for him to properly digest what Kokichi said, but once he does, he quickly sits up, a small scowl appearing on his face as he turned to Kokichi, who was now sitting on the inner tube from before. “What do you mean your new motive..?”

Kokichi only smiles innocently as he leans back on the inner tube, hands behind his head as he spoke. “Awh, didn’t you get the memo? The mastermind behind all of this is...” The innocent smile is quickly replaced by something sinister, something that causes Shuichi to once again freeze up as Kokichi used his own face to showcase a demonic smile. “... Me! Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader!”

”... Y-You’re lying…”

The accusation dies in his mouth as he stares at Kokichi, who only gives a maniacal laugh in response to Shuichi’s weak words. “Now, why the hell would you say that I’m lying? I know I do it a lot, but did you really forget about last night?”

Shuichi flinched at the memories of Gonta’s gruesome demise, followed by what Kokichi had said and done after the execution.

Slowly, he felt his hands curl into fists as he narrowed his eyes at the young man in front of him. Regardless of his current situation, he still wanted to punch the other boy in the face, even if it meant that he would be technically punching himself. And if he was the mastermind, then that meant that he was stuck in the body of the person who orchestrated the entire thing, while the Mastermind was stuck in his.

There was some sort of irony in there, but honestly, Shuichi was too enraged to think about it right now “... Why are you telling me all of this..?”

Quickly, the menacing look on Kokichi’s face was gone, replaced by an easygoing smile. “Well, it’s because I need your help to run this game, of course!”

For a split second, Shuichi is taken aback by such a blunt, absurd statement that he doesn’t know exactly what to say at first. “... Why would I-?”

”Let me guess, your next line is, “Why would I help scum like you”, am I right?” Kokichi quickly leans forward on the inner tube so that he was somewhat towering over Shuichi, causing the now smaller boy to shrink just a bit, that sinister look returning to Kokichi’s face as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s because if you don’t, I’ll make sure there’s no chance whatsoever that any of your little friends survive…

Shuichi’s world seems to stop for a moment at that, only now remembering the state Kaito was in last night. The image of blood falling out of Kaito’s mouth like spit, staining both his hands and his purple jacket, as well as Shuichi's own mind with nothing but fear.

Shuichi barely catches Kokichi’s smile growing out of the corner of his eye, feeling almost vulnerable in Kokichi’s body, although he was sure Kokichi was anything but that. ”... Actually, they’re not really your friends now either, right?”

Before Shuichi can argue with that, the memory of Kaito’s sharp glare after the class trial hits him like a truck, causing him to choke up for a second.

Kaito looked completely and utterly betrayed, even if he himself wasn’t the person Shuichi accused, and it was one of the few moments he had wished he had kept the hat he had abandoned not so long ago, just so he wouldn’t have to see the pure heartbreak in the other’s eyes.

Was it really worth finding the truth if it meant that he would lose so much in the end, including his friend’s trust? Would anyone even believe him now?

No, it was probably better to go along with the Mastermind’s plans, at least until he knew that his friends were going to be okay and that Kokichi wouldn’t hurt them. He owed them at least that much.

”... Okay…” At first, Shuichi’s voice is so quiet that he himself can barely hear it, forcing his voice to remain steady as he spoke up. “... I’ll help, just… Just don’t make me hurt anyone else...”

Shuichi doesn’t catch the disbelief on Kokichi’s face, nor the flash of guilt that disappears in seconds, instead focusing on the papers on the ground as he tries his best not to cry. All he can hear is Kokichi’s voice, dripping with venom as the other gently grabs his shoulder. “Alright, that’s what I wanna hear! You and I, Shuichi…” Shuichi barely feels the other’s hand tighten around his shoulder. “... We’re gonna do great things together. I promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i tried updating this at 2 am last night and the website was down and just hhhhhhhhhh BUT hey at least i got some sleep in right???? B)
> 
> Okay but seriously, thank yall so much for the positive feedback! It means so much to me, and I'm so happy to see so many people interested and enjoying this story so far! I hope that I don't disappoint! also sidenote, as promised, I'll finally update the tags once this update is up. It's nothing important but it does spoil what exactly happens in chapter one so. hm.
> 
> disclaimer: i own nothing

Kokichi stares down at the stone in the courtyard for awhile before he lightly kicks it, as if to check if it would remain there.

As expected though, the rock doesn’t budge a single inch from its spot in the Earth, remaining where it was since Gonta had first found it after the first trial. If anything, the only difference in its state from what it was then to now was what was written on it.

_This world is mine. Kokichi Ouma_

Or at least, that’s what it should read. Right now, it was missing parts of his last name, that being the first three letters of it.

He took one more look around his surroundings before kneeling down next to the rock, cursing under his breath as he withdrew the screwdriver he had snatched from his room right before he left. If only Monokuma hadn’t interrupted him while he was working on his plan, then he wouldn’t have to risk doing this in the daytime.

Immediately, he went to work, starting to scrape the last three letters onto the stone, yet this time, it was much easier than when he had been doing it the night before, startling him for just a moment, long enough for him to stare down at his hand after he carved in the first letter.

Or, well, it wasn’t really his hand, was it? It wasn’t as pale, and the black sleeves that covered most of his arms was actually a bit itchy, now that he was paying attention to it.

He tugged at his sleeve as he gave a tired sigh, mumbling under his breath about the taller boy’s awful choice in clothing before forcing himself to get back to work, having a bit of difficulty with carving the “u” onto the stone, trying to focus on curving the letter properly.

Yet he can’t help how his mind wanders to Shuichi, who was searching the academy for the flashback light, as instructed by Kokichi, under the assumption that Kokichi wanted to keep some of their classmates memories from them as some form of torture.

Kokichi nearly snorts at the idea of it, a hint of a smirk appearing on his face as he finally finished carving the “u” into the stone. Angie had been right about one thing, those flashbacks lights were nothing but trouble. Who knows what sort of things the mastermind would force them to remember this time, and whether or not it would cause someone to kill?

His smile immediately falls as he recalls what exactly happened the last time he used a flashback light, his hand shaking a bit as his grip tightened on the screwdriver. He tries to keep his mind focused on carving the last letter into the stone to try and drag himself away from his intruding thoughts.

It’s because of this that Kokichi doesn’t even hear the approaching footsteps as he tries so hard not to back out of his plan, to try and think of something else, yet knowing that it’s too late to do so.

”... Shuichi?”

He’s so startled by the sudden yet also meek voice that the screwdriver keeps moving down too fast for him to stop, etching a deep mark into it. The sound it emits is one akin to nails running across a chalkboard, and Kokichi almost flinches as he turns to face the person behind him.

Tsumugi’s face seems somewhat apprehensive, yet there was also a hint of confusion in it as she stared down at him. “... Shuichi, what are you doing out here..?”

For a few long, tense seconds, there is silence as Kokichi tries to process her question, at first not understanding why she was calling him Shuichi. It was only when he opened his mouth, a scowl forming on his face did he stop and remember his current situation.

He quickly shuts his mouth, shaking his head as he tries to recollect himself. Out of everything, how to act like Shuichi was ranked as one of the last things to learn in his current situation. Only now did he remember that Shuichi actually had friends in the killing game. Ones that resented him now probably, but friends all the same.

He was a good liar, so didn’t that technically mean he was a good actor as well? As far as the killing game went, it seemed that way, but he was acting out the role of a psychotic supreme leader at the time, not a quiet and shy ultimate detective.

Oh well, guess it was worth a shot. That, and he was talking to Tsumugi, so it probably wouldn’t matter if he messed up now or not. Compared to everyone else, Tsumugi was more like a level one enemy compared to Maki, who would probably be considered a level twenty enemy based off her bullshit detector alone.

He forced a sheepish smile onto his face, which felt unusual yet also comfortable at the same time, before he finally spoke, dropping the screwdriver in his hand to the ground before quickly kicking it off into the tall grass as he stood. “I was just investigating around the school when I noticed this.” He uses his foot to gently tap the stone as he continued. “Isn’t this the stone that Gonta usually talked about?”

Gonta’s name rolls off his tongue easily, as if he wasn’t affected by what happened at all yesterday, but Tsumugi’s visible flinch at the gentle giant’s name reflects his true feelings. Still, Tsumugi doesn’t mention it, only taking a few steps forward to examine the stone, taking a few seconds to read it before her eyes widened. “... Wh-What could this mean..?”

It takes another few seconds for Kokichi to realize that she actually wanted his opinion on something, a privilege he had given up long ago in this hellhole.

Actually, no, she wanted the ultimate detective’s opinion, not Kokichi’s. Still, with his current… Condition, it could probably help with his plan, although it would mean putting Shuichi into some more danger…

No, he would have to play it safe for now, at least until he could find a good hiding place for Shuichi. “... It could be some prank.”

Tsumugi stares up at him in disbelief, and the fact that she actually has to look up at him is somewhat disconnecting to the point that he doesn’t exactly hear what she says at first.

It’s only after that he shuts his eyes for a moment does he finally come back down to Earth, shaking his head a bit before opening his eyes once again to see Tsumugi’s expecting face, forcing a choked chuckle to leave his mouth. “I-I’m sorry, Tsumugi, could you run that by me again..?”

Instead of repeating what she said, Tsumugi simply sighs, dejectedly looking off to the side as she spoke. “Ah, forget what I said. You probably wouldn’t get the reference anyway…” Before Kokichi could protest, she quickly turns back to face Kokichi, her dejected look replaced by a small smile. “Well, either way, we should probably tell the others about this…”

A small scoff leaves Kokichi’s mouth as he crosses his hands behind his head. “And why’s that? It’s just a dumb prank. No harm, no foul?”

”A-Ah, well…” Her smile quickly vanishes as she looks off to the side. “... I just think it’s better to be safe than sorry… After all, we all thought Kokichi was messing around yesterday, but then…”

Tsumugi trails off, unable to finish her statement, yet it was clear to know what she was talking about.

Kokichi feels his grip on one of his sleeves tightening just a bit as he forces what he hopes to be is a reassuring smile onto his face. “... I understand. I guess with Kokichi, it’s better to be safe than sorry, right?”

”...” For a few seconds, Tsumugi says nothing, only staring up at Kokichi for a few moments in a tense silence, causing Kokichi’s fake smile to falter just a bit before Tsumugi finally speaks. “... Hey, are you okay?”

At first, Kokichi doesn’t know how to respond, only able to tilt his head just a bit in question, prompting Tsumugi to continue.

”Ah, well, it’s just that…” Tsumugi goes silent for a few seconds more in thought before she seems to finally find the right word. “... You’re acting really weird, Shuichi. Did you get enough sleep last night?”

Kokichi feels himself inwardly curse at the question, yet he tries his best not to show his panic as he gives a light laugh, scrambling for an answer. “Y-Yeah, of course I did!”

The cosplayer seems taken aback by Kokichi’s answer, once again staring at him in confusion. This time though, Kokichi doesn’t allow her to question him further, simply walking past Tsumugi and towards the front of the school as he waved her off. “Anyway, we should probably go tell the others about this rock. You can follow me if you want!”

He doesn’t bother to pay attention enough to notice if Tsumugi decided to follow him or not, instead trying to plan someway to make his act better. Maybe he could talk to Shuichi later, and the now much shorter boy could give him some tips on how to act like him?

Either way, he just hoped that Shuichi was okay right now with trying to find the flashback light, and hadn’t gotten himself hurt.

###### 

Shuichi inwardly cursed himself as he stared up at the spiral staircase above him, his eyes widening just a bit in fear as the voices of his fellow classmates echoed down to the lower floor.

Normally, the sound of Maki and Kaito’s voices wouldn’t have terrified him. Even when upset, neither really wanted to hurt him. Yet in his current state, he was now one hundred percent guaranteed to get strangled if Maki saw him, and would probably get punched if Kaito saw him first.

Even when he was, well, himself, getting punched by the other man was painful, and he would bet that being Kokichi now wasn’t going to be any better.

The only person upstairs who probably wouldn’t be that much trouble was Himiko, and he already knew that Keebo wouldn’t be much trouble, as he was inside the hanger across the school, which he had already investigated, only to figure out that the flashback light was not in what he assumed was the exisal hanger.

That only left one place really, or at least, as far as he knew, and that was whatever was up about five flights of stairs and three people that probably despised him.

Shuichi runs his hands down his face as he took a deep breath, trying to collect his thoughts in his panicked mind. He was the ultimate detective, he could think of some plan to just walk up some stairs without getting himself killed, right?

Yet no matter how long he thought, he really couldn’t come up with a plan to get up the stairs without being seen by anyone, as there was nowhere to hide in the first place. That, and he had a limited amount of time, as the group of three was already halfway up the staircase, even if Kaito’s illness and Himiko’s laziness was holding them back.

Maybe he should just try and run upstairs really fast? It wasn’t the best plan, but he couldn’t think of anything else either. He could also use his now much smaller stature to his advantage as well, just in case someone did try to hit him.

With that plan in mind, he prepared his sprint up the staircase, thanking whatever god there was that Kokichi actually wore shoes that he could actually run in, tapping said shoes against the ground as he took one last look up towards the top floor.

”... I’m going to die.”

With that, he took one more breath before he began sprinting up the staircase, having to stop himself from flinching as the sound of his shoes hitting the stairs echoed across the room.

”... Hey, what’s that sound?”

”Nyeh..? What sound?”

Shuichi had expected that the closer he would get to the group of three that he would start to run slower. In reality, the opposite happened, making the amount of space between him and his classmates shorter and shorter until-

”Kokichi.”

The amount of venom in Maki’s voice is almost enough to make him stop completely in his tracks, unable to stop the horrified look from taking over his face as Maki turned her murderous glare towards him.

”H-Huh?! Kokichi-?!”

And yet the second her glare appears, it vanishes, replaced by a brief second of confusion. It’s enough time for Shuichi to get past all three of them, careful not to push Himiko off the edge of the staircase as he ran past all three of them and further up the staircase.

”H-Hey! Get the fuck back down here you little-!”

Shuichi finally stops as the sound of a rough cough across across the room, by now about a floor or so above the three.

He feels his stomach drop as Kaito raises an elbow to his mouth, withdrawing it away just a bit to catch some blood staining his jacket’s sleeve. Not as much as last night, but still a lot nonetheless.

”K-Kaito! Are you okay?!”

Kokichi’s voice sounds somewhat weird when there’s genuine concern in it, and it’s only when he comes to that realization that he also recalls his current situation. It’s too late though, as now Kaito stares up at him in shock at the “supreme leader’s” sudden concern.

For a second, he debates if he should actually give up on helping Kokichi and tell Kaito and the others about what happened, but that idea is quickly dashed once he realizes that they simply wouldn’t believe him.

That, and there was also Kokichi’s looming threat of being the mastermind, using Shuichi’s own voice to say that he’ll have his friends killed unless he complies to his plans.

It’s with those thoughts does he finally tear his gaze away from the sight, continuing his sprint up the spiral staircase to the floor above, only sparing a look back to see Maki taking care of the astronaut when he could not.

###### 

Kokichi hums in thought as he holds the flashback light up to his face, looking it over with what seems to be a tad bit of curiosity before he sets it back down on what was once Miu’s old workbench, then forcing a somewhat teasing smile onto his face as he faced Shuichi. “I knew I could count on my beloved new minion to get the job done!”

Shuichi barely acknowledges Kokichi from the seat he’s on, using a foot that barely touched the ground to swing back and forth just a bit as he mumbled back his reply. “Thanks…”

Kokichi’s smile turns into a somewhat frustrated frown for just a moment before it returns, a small glint now in his eyes as he spoke. “I heard about what happened, well, at least how you got upstairs. How did you get back down?”

Shuichi stops swinging back and forth, seemingly taking a moment to think about his response before he finally replies, that same somewhat detached look on his face. “... I slid down the railing.”

Kokichi can’t help the small snicker at the image of Shuichi sliding down the railing, a pissed off Harukawa running after him, but it’s quickly vanishing the longer Kokichi stares down at Shuichi.

It’s somewhat disconnecting, seeing what looks like him acting so empty, devoid of anything at all, but then again, it must be hard for Shuichi as well. But what could he do now? He had to keep up the illusion of being the Mastermind for just a bit longer, at least until he knew he could trust the detective.

Or, hell, maybe he’ll be dead by the time Shuichi realizes that he isn't the Mastermind.

... Wait, if he died, did that mean Shuichi would die too? Or would Shuichi be stuck in his body?

The idea of being stuck in Shuichi’s body, while at first kind of funny, somewhat terrified Kokichi. It presented a sort of finality, a way of saying there was no way that the other boy was returning, and it causes a shiver to go down Kokichi’s spine.

Maybe it was better to prevent either one of their deaths, and to start with that, he’d have to begin to trust the other boy, just a bit.

Kokichi took one final, deep breath before he turns and grabs one of the many devices Miu had created for him before she died, a hammer of sorts that disabled electronics. What had he called it? An electrohammer? Yeah, that was probably it.

Whatever it was called, he tossed one in the other boy’s direction, with Shuichi finally losing some of the somewhat dull look in his eyes as the hammer was thrown in his direction, a dull clank echoing across the room as it hit the ground. “... What’s this?”

Kokichi snorted, as if the question itself was stupid, laying another one of the hammers against his shoulders as he huffed. “Well, it’s a hammer, for one thing.”

Shuichi gave Kokichi a somewhat flat look as he finally got up from his chair, picking the hammer off the ground, examining it slowly as he replied. “I-I knew that. I mean, what kind of hammer is this? Why are you giving this to me?”

Was this a good idea? The last time he had showed someone else what he was willing to show Shuichi now, they had been driven to kill.

Then again, it was Kokichi himself that had driven Gonta to murder Miu, and unless he was that desperate again, he wouldn’t wish for Shuichi to do something so rash and traumatic, as well as fatal.

If anything, he would just rather die.

”I’m not gonna give all my secrets away, Shuichi~” The somewhat teasing tone doesn’t really fit Shuichi’s voice, but Kokichi simply shrugs it off, as Shuichi didn’t seem uncomfortable by it. If anything, the other boy only looked annoyed, but not uncomfortable. “Well, I will tell you where we’re going!”

At this, Shuichi perked up just a bit, struggling just a bit to keep up with Kokichi as he followed him, asking his next question just as Kokichi opened up the front door of the lab to look outside. “Really? Where, then?”

”Why, isn’t it obvious?” Any terror Kokichi was feeling was absent from his voice as he smiled towards Shuichi, one that matched his role as the Mastermind of the killing game. “I’m going to show you the secret of the outside world!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you all so much for reading this story! Feedback is welcome and appreciated. And I hope you all have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this chapter just didn't want to cooperate with me at all. I haven't touched my ao3 account that much in the past month in the hopes that I could finally get this chapter done. And after nearly 5 rough drafts, I finally finished the blasted thing. Still, thank you all for the support! It really helped me through this small writers block!
> 
> that being said, school has started back up, so there may be some slower updates. Although I do doubt that, since most of my classes are englsh centric, and are quite easy to boot...
> 
> eh, regardless, I hope you all enjoy this update! the disclaimer is that i own nothing. whoo!

The sound of the heavy door being opened echoes across the courtyard, and Shuichi can’t help but look behind him because of it. The fear he had while crossing the front of the school returning, the thought of being seen as he was now, along with Kokichi, was almost mortifying, even if neither boy had seen anyone on the way there.

Still, he clutches the hammer in his hands tighter, before he finally digests the entire situation. Here he was, stuck in a killing game run by a robotic bear and his “children”, holding a cartoonishly large pink hammer in the belief that it will, somehow, help him. To top it all off, his best friend hates him, and he’s stuck in the body of the mastermind while the actual mastermind has him in the palm of his hand.

Despite how bleak and maddening it all was to him, instead of the usual sense of dread that would fill his mind, Shuichi couldn’t help but laugh.

He barely catches the concerned look that Kokichi shoots his way before it quickly disappears as he looks back inside the building that led to the “backyard” of the school. Yet all the concern did was make Shuichi laugh harder. Why did Kokichi even bother to fake such concern for him? He could already ask anything of Shuichi with no resistance from him, so what’s the point of it all?

His laughter is stopped abruptly as Kokichi drags him by the arm arm, easily pulling Shuichi into the building before shutting the door behind him. Once that was done, he faced Shuichi again, the brief concern from before replaced with anger as he glared down at Shuichi. “What is your problem? Are you trying to get everyone else to come down here?!”

If Kokichi’s words hadn’t dragged Shuichi back down to reality, then the anger plastered on his face would have certainly done that.

Shuichi thought, or at least would like to think, that he wasn’t really prone to anger, yet now, Kokichi, somehow, managed to wear it perfectly on his face, like it was made for it, and it unsettled Shuichi. How could Kokichi almost imitate something like what someone looks like perfectly without, what seemed to be, little to no effort? Was it some sort of side effect to the motive Monokuma had made?

The thought of him becoming somewhat like Kokichi in return crossed his mind for a brief second, and he couldn’t help the sudden fear rising in his heart, scouring his mind for any instances that could hint to that.

Yet regardless of what he thought, he couldn’t quite muster an answer to Kokichi’s question, only able to stare up at the other boy as the other glared back, before Kokichi finally sighed in frustration, throwing his free hand in the air as he shook his head. “Fine, don’t tell me. It’s not like I’ll find out later anyway.”

Without waiting for Shuichi to follow him, he walked over towards the manhole towards the right of the room, swinging the hammer in his hand back and forth for a bit before he finally stops right next to it. “And here we are! The final stretch of our journey before we get to the exit!” He then stops for a moment in thought, his mouth twisted into a frown, before he adds. “... Well, there is the entire “Death Road of Despair” thing too, but it’s not really an obstacle anymore with the hammers…”

The Death Road of Despair..? Was he referring to the pathway that they found long ago? It was gruelling, of course, but he never would think of calling it that. And how did the hammers help with getting through all those obstacles?

Shuichi opens his mouth to ask those questions, but stops as the sound of footsteps reach his ears. He turns towards the door behind him, his eyes widening just a bit as the footsteps get closer and closer.

He nearly gives a small yell as Kokichi yanks on the back of his shirt, before he finally catches his footing and simply runs along with him toward the manhole. Once they were both right next to it, Kokichi gives him the hammer he had and then whispered. “Go down the ladder and wait for me. I’ll try to chase them off.”

Shuichi is about to open his mouth to protest, wondering why he couldn’t talk to whoever was coming, before remembering that he was currently in the body of someone everyone in the school hated. With that thought, he holds on tightly to both hammers in one arm before he begins to carefully, yet quickly, go down the ladder.

He’s only a quarter of the way down when he hears the door open, followed by a voice he could easily recognize. “... Shuichi? You’re here?”

For the first time in awhile, Maki’s voice terrifies him, forcing himself to move faster down the ladder as he hears Kokichi reply. “Yeah..? Why, is something wrong with me being here?”

”... No, I just thought I heard…” Maki’s voice eventually trails off, but Shuichi could already tell what she meant, and he nearly cursed himself. She must have heard him laughing, and immediately walked towards it.

Still, she doesn’t mention it, and her voice picks back up as he’s halfway down the ladder. “... Nevermind, I was looking for you anyway. Can you come with me for a couple minutes?”

At that, he stops going down the ladder, ignoring the slight pain in the arm holding both hammers as he holds on tightly to the ladder with his right hand. “... Is something wrong?”

”No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just that... Kaito asked me to show him my research lab.”

At the mention of Kaito’s name, Shuichi’s grip on the ladder grows tighter, and for once, Kokichi voices his exact thought. “Huh? Your lab?”

He could practically see Maki shrugging as she replies. “I might as well show him, since I already know he won’t take no for an answer. So… You have to come, too.”

For a few seconds, Shuichi can do nothing but stare at the dark, empty space in front of him. For once his mind completely empty and devoid of any thought, no longer feeling the pain in his left arm.

Eventually, he finally resumes his climb down the ladder, not even bothering to listen to the conversation anymore, already knowing what Kokichi was going to say. Of course, he was going to follow Maki to her research lab, both to get her away and to get some hint to whatever Kaito was doing. To top it all off, he might ruin his friendship with Kaito just a bit more, making it unlikely for Shuichi to try and talk with his friend.

Still, it wasn’t like Kaito could hate him any more than he already does, so really, what was the point of worrying about that now?

It took about a minute for him to get to the bottom of the ladder, and once he did, he placed both of the hammers onto the ground, the fact that there were no longer any voices above him now just a dull thought in the back of his mind as he sat against the ladder.

For once since this motive was revealed, Shuichi was finally able to try and think of some advantages to his current problem. Besides being a bit faster than he usually was, and being able to hide a lot easier due to his small size, he couldn’t really think of anything. Right now, Kokichi had most of the best cards in his hands, the biggest one being that he was practically a wolf among sheep, and that if Shuichi tried to call out his trick, he would be the boy who cried wolf.

It was with that thought that Shuichi gave a small sigh, throwing his head back just a bit in frustration before he gives a small yell in pain as the back of his head hits the metal ladder. He rubs the growing bump as he rests his other hand on the ground below, before freezing up as his hand brushes up against one of the hammers he had set down before.

He stops to stare down at it, pain momentarily forgotten as he tried his best to recall what little information Kokichi gave him about the hammers. In the end though, all he could recall was that Kokichi briefly mentioned that they were supposed to help them get through the Death Road of Despair and reach the exit.

Still, he finds himself picking up one of the hammers, gripping the cartoonishly large hammer in his small hands as he stared down at it.

That’s when it hit him, the one small advantage he could probably get over Kokichi. He could reach the exit without Kokichi, and he could go to the outside world to get help. Yeah, what Gonta said about the outside world being hell was somewhat frightening, but it could certainly be better than the hellhole they were currently trapped in.

With that thought, he makes his way towards the gaping maw that lead to the Death Road of Despair, hammer gripped tightly in his hands as he walked towards it, leaving the other hammer behind.

###### 

In all of his wildest dreams, Kokichi never thought that this would happen. He had thought that walking within five feet of Maki Harukawa was a lot less likely than him winning the lottery, and yet here he was, walking down the hall towards her research lab without her even sparing him a suspicious look over her shoulder. He could stab her right now, and no one, even herself, would believe it was him that did it.

Once that thought enters his mind, he nearly recoils from it. He shouldn’t think about murder, not even murdering someone like Maki Harukawa, the unfeeling assassin. Besides, that would mean that Shuichi would have blood on his hands, and even if he didn’t like Maki, Shuichi did consider her his friend. No, he would not stoop to Maki’s level to get rid of a dangerous threat. Instead, he’ll just have to continue living with it

His thoughts cut off as they finally arrive at her research lab, and Maki opens the door with not a single word of warning, and Kokichi is able to see the lab for the second, and what he hoped to be the last, time in his life.

Unlike last time, he opts not to look at the dozens upon dozens of weapons littering the walls, and focuses on the people in the room. Yet unlike the last time he was in the room, there was only one other person. Like last time though, this person looks at him with a somewhat disdained look before quickly looking away. “... Hey, Shuichi.”

Kaito’s response nearly halts Kokichi in his tracks. Of course, he had thought over how he would talk to Kaito, as he couldn’t just ignore him like he did in the cafeteria this morning. Now that he was in front of him though, any ideas he had come up with before went out the window.

Thankfully, Maki stepped in, giving a somewhat exhausted sigh as she finally walked into the research lab. “Is there a reason why you wanted to come to my research lab? Besides to gawk at everything in here.”

Kaito’s displeased look finally fades away at Maki’s words, replaced by a somewhat sheepish smile as he shook his head. “Nah, I just wanted to see what kind of weapons were in here…”

Weapons? Kaito didn’t seem like he was prone to violence, at least violence of Maki’s sort of caliber. He finds himself tuning out the rest of their conversation as it gets off topic, opting to look over the weapons on the wall beside him as he thought.

Did it have something to do with the plan Kaito had mentioned that morning? He hadn’t mentioned it to Shuichi, as he didn’t think that Kaito would actually carry it out before Monokuma, or anyone with an ounce of sense, would step up and stop him. At least someone besides him. Yet now, it seemed that he would actually follow through with it for once, and he had only a small amount of time to think of a counter plan before Kaito somehow got someone hurt.

He slowly looks over one of the weapons on the wall, a mace, before picking it up, as if the added weight would help him think. Maybe it wasn’t that good of an idea to hide so much information from Shuichi. It was sometimes hard to remember that Shuichi didn’t only investigate murders, but also other crimes as well. Next time he saw him, he would have to ask him if-

”... Hey, Shuichi, what are you doing?”

Kokichi turns to see Maki staring at him, that cold, icy look returning for the first time since Monokuma’s stupid motive started, with Kaito staring at him in disbelief behind her.

For once, it was hard to tell what the other boy was thinking. Was he surprised that he could pick up the mace? Or did he think that “Shuichi” was going to kill him?

The thought of Shuichi killing Kaito is so stupid that it almost makes him laugh, but he holds it back. While he didn’t really like Kaito that much, it didn’t mean that he should ruin his relationship with Shuichi even more. He may be somewhat cruel sometimes, but he wasn’t evil.

... Well, he at least hoped he wasn’t.

With that, he puts the mace back where it was, forcing a small smile onto his face as he gives a convincing, somewhat embarrassed laugh. “Ah, sorry about that, I was just looking it over…”

For a few seconds, he thinks that neither of the two believed his act, but eventually, Maki finally looks away and back towards the black bag before her. “... As I was saying, these are just some crossbow pieces.”

Yet Kaito continued to stare at Shuichi for just a bit longer, narrowing his eyes for a split second, before he finally looks back towards Maki, a small finality in his actions, as if he mentally came to some grand conclusion. “... Really? Can you show me how to put it together then?”

Finally, Kokichi lets out a breath he wasn’t even aware he was holding as Maki explained in her usual dull, almost boring voice how to put it together, with Kokichi barely listening. It was easy to tell what Maki had wanted, and while her intentions did surprise Kokichi, the end result didn’t surprise him. After all, Maki hadn’t been in this sort of situation before, at least, it seemed that way to Kokichi.

So while he could somewhat commend Maki for her intentions, he couldn’t say the same for the execution itself. There was no way that Kaito was going to make-up with Shuichi, at least, as long as he wasn’t talking to Shuichi himself.

With that thought came the small feeling of uselessness, and he finally decided to leave the room. Without a single word to the two, he quietly left the room, slowly shutting the door behind him so that it didn’t make a sound before he finally made his way down and then out of the building so that he could head back to the “backyard”.

Whatever Kaito was planning would have to wait for now, as Kaito was less likely to simply tell him about his plan now more than ever. Maybe in the morning, he would be more willing to do so, since there would be other people there? For now, he’d have to focus on the present, which included showing Shuichi the truth of the outside world, because maybe if he did it in such a way that wouldn’t hurt him, he’d probably figure something out. Something that Kokichi himself had yet to realize.

Kokichi made sure that no one saw him as he made his way to the “backyard”, giving one more glance over his shoulder, before he finally opened the door and walked into the building, allowing the door to shut on itself as he walked towards the manhole.

One glance down the manhole only caused his heart to nearly stop.

He could see the two electrohammers he had given Shuichi earlier leaning against the bottom of the ladder, the pink color on them shining duly in the small light provided, but Shuichi himself was simply gone.

With little to no thought of his own safety, Kokichi made his way down the ladder quickly, nearly sliding down it, jumping off it once he was more than halfway down the ladder.

He ignored the dull pain in his legs as his feet hit the ground, stumbling just a bit before he begins to look around the room, quietly calling out to the other boy. “Shuichi..! Shuichi, where are you..!?”

As he looked around the dark room, he scoured his mind for a reason as to why this would happen. Did this have something to do with how Shuichi was acting earlier? True, it wasn’t how he usually acted, at least not in front of everyone else, but it was still concerning.

Was it possible that the real mastermind had stepped in and gotten rid of him? No, that couldn’t be it. If Kokichi could do this much tampering with the killing game without the mastermind stepping in, then they couldn’t have done anything to Shuichi, who knew very little about the game itself.

As he made his way over to the ladder, he finally stopped as something caught his eye, freezing up as he stared at the electrohammers resting against the ladder.

Slowly, he walked over towards one of the hammers, which seemed to be more haphazardly put onto the ladder, as if the last person who used it was in a hurry, evident by how it seemed to be in the state that Miu claimed was when it ran out of power.

As Kokichi walked closer to it though, that sinking feeling in his gut only grew, his hands shaking as he reached forward and grabbed the hammer.

Wrapped around it was the checkered bandanna he usually wore around his neck, now into a tight bow on the handle of the hammer.

Slowly, Kokichi untied the bandanna from the hammer. Once he untied it, he simply allowed the hammer to drop to the ground below, ignoring the bang that resounded across the room as he stared down at the bandanna.

For what felt like the second time in the past 24 hours, Kokichi could feel actual, genuine tears picking at the corner of his eyes, clenching the cloth in his hands as they slowly turned into fists. First it was Gonta, now this? How did he ever get to this point, where he could just carelessly ruin someone else’s life?

Quickly though, he slowly unclenched his hands, taking a deep breath as he wiped an arm across his eyes to stop the tears. Crying wouldn’t help anyone now, most of all Shuichi, wherever he was now.

No, what would help Shuichi now was looking for him, and helping him accept the hell he had seen, and he could only hope that he would find him before it was too late, and he does something that he would regret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this may seem a bit shorter than usual, but trust me, the next chapter will be much longer. hopefully. anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Feedback is welcomed/appreciated, and I hope y'all have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hate how it accidentally mixed up kokichi's and shuichi's names sometimes while writing this im gonna shdagfsjdfhjsdfhsdjf
> 
> anyway happy holidays everyone! i hope yall had a fun halloween and are looking forward to a merry christmas! i know this update took awhile, but i hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> also, thank you all so much for the kudos and comments! Those really helped me write this chapter. So with that, let's go!
> 
> disclaimer: i own nothing

When he first started to look for Shuichi, he knew there were only a few places the other boy could hide without being found, as well as without running into anyone else. He had first decided to check the easiest spot, that being Miu’s old research lab, since it was the last place the two were.

Yet it was as devoid of life as it usually was since Miu had died, and he had quickly left before the silence became suffocating. In its place though was something much worse, a growing sense of paranoia that refused to settle as time went on and Shuichi still wasn’t in sight.

Once he got to the dormitory, he had to restrain himself from slamming open the door, remembering at the last minute what time it was and that there was actually still some people left alive in the killing game.

With that in mind, he quietly, yet still quickly, opened the door before slipping inside, leaving the door behind to shut on its own while he went towards the staircase leading to the second floor on the boy’s side of the building.

It didn’t take that long to get to the door leading to his room, reaching down to grab the doorknob without second thought as he tried to mentally prepare himself for whatever state Shuichi was in now after seeing the outside world.

Only to suddenly stop as the door refused to open, the familiar sound of the the lock inside the door being in use clicking into his mind like an old friend that just betrayed someone they loved.

Kokichi cursed under his breath as he bent down to examine the lock, checking to see if it was the same as the locks that belonged to the ones for the other dorms, or at least, the one he broke into.

Much to his dismay, his was actually much different, meaning that he would have to spend more time trying to pick it, which also meant it was more likely for him to get caught.

For a few seconds, he debates whether he should actually pick the lock. After all, he knew where Shuichi was, and if he had to, he’d stay up all night waiting for the other boy to leave the room.

But then again, if he was right, Shuichi had just seen what was essentially armageddon, and had only recently found out that all of his friends and family were dead. He didn’t really know how the other would react after seeing that, especially after how Kokichi had been treating him the past few days, but he had a rough idea of the different outcomes and possibilities.

Not for the first time, a sense of guilt settles into his stomach, and Kokichi feels a hint of nausea in the back of his throat, and he actually feels like he’s going to puke as that guilt only grows. It’s a feeling that’s been familiar to him since the last class trial, but he’s never really had that much time to think about it, considering what Monokuma’s new motive had done in the past 24 hours.

God, had it really only been a day since Gonta had died? Only a day, and he was already on his way to getting his third victim.

It only takes that one thought for his mind to immediately go down the rabbit hole.

There’s a small part of him that’s still somewhat rational, and it wonders why he’s thinking like this. Usually, he can manage to keep his cool, at least until he was in the safety of his room, where he knew he couldn’t be watched. Yet it’s overshadowed by paranoia as it begins to mix with guilt, swirling together to make a completely different emotion entirely.

Tears begin to gather in Kokichi’s eyes as he leans his head against the door, gritting his teeth together as every single negative emotion he’s ever felt comes crashing against him at once. He scavenges his memory for any idea as to how it got to this point, over how he ended up getting two people killed and on his way to kill a third.

Yet his mind eventually wanders away from that, and wanders towards all the memories he made with everyone else inside the hellhole that bear had them trapped in, because despite the awful experiences, there were a few good memories Kokichi had made.

He suddenly recalls the time he had spent with Shuichi, teasing him and tricking him into playing multiple games under the guise of an evil supreme leader, at first doing so to satiate his need to have some fun, as well as to keep his mind off what was going on around him.

Slowly though, he had begun to actually have some fun with Shuichi, and Shuichi had come back, even if Kokichi had a feeling that he had figured out that he actually meant no harm, and was just messing with him. It was strange though, how out of all people, Kokichi had enjoyed being with Shuichi the most, even if he had basically done the same thing to other people. It was just that Shuichi seemed kinder than most people he had met, as well as more open and understanding then just labeling Kokichi as an awful person in the first five seconds they met each other. Instead of casting that kindness aside though, he had accepted it, and sometimes went out of his way to find out where the detective was whenever he had the free time...

It was then that Kokichi came to a startling realization, and through his tears, he gave a sharp laugh, covering his eyes with one arm as he leaned his other arm on the door.

Oh dear god, he actually liked Shuichi. And not just like, he liked like him. Fate really was cruel, wasn’t it?

Despite his laughter, his guilt only grew, and his thoughts suddenly took a dark turn. Why was he even doing all of this? What was the point? In the end, just so he could stop everyone else’s suffering, he should just-

”... Shuichi?”

He’s suddenly snapped out of his thoughts at the timid voice, turning so fast that his neck hurts just a bit.<\p>

Only to get face to face with a tall, pointy hat. For a second, he blinks in surprise, before he uses his arm to wipe at his eyes, trying to get rid of his tears as the timid voice returns. “... Are you okay..?”

For once, Kokichi completely ignores the sarcastic approach, instead wondering about what was with his recent mini breakdown seconds before as he nods his head. “Yeah, Himiko, I’m fine…”

Even though he sounded somewhat convincing, one look at Himiko’s doubtful face told him that it didn’t work, and he quickly tries to find some way to change the subject before she can speak. “... What are you doing up, anyway? Isn’t it late?”

Quickly, her doubtful looks fades back into her usual frown, and she looks away for a second. “... I couldn’t sleep, and I heard that taking a small walk could help. Since it might make me tired…” She then looks up towards Kokichi, her frown remaining, yet there’s something else there that Kokichi can’t quite decipher. “... Do you wanna come with?”

It takes a split second more for Kokichi to realize that the emotion she had in her eyes was concern, and for a few seconds more for him to realize that she was concerned for him. An emotion that he hadn’t seemed aimed at him by anyone but one other person.

He takes one last look at the door behind him, wondering about the other boy behind him, now with a clearer mind.

At this point, if there was one word Kokichi could use to describe Shuichi, it was stubborn. From trying to figure out his true motives, to just being stubborn enough to continue revealing the truth during a class trial, regardless of the price, Shuichi was also stubborn enough not to hurt himself, as well as being too kind to hurt anyone else. Even now, the other boy was stubborn enough to find the secret of the outside world on his own, and was now probably trying to figure out the truth of the outside world’s destruction.

It seemed small, but it was something that Kokichi hadn’t really done since the killing game started, and that was trusting someone else to do the right thing.

Honestly, it was kind of terrifying, but he had already begun to trust Shuichi with some part of his plan, so in that moment, Kokichi decided to trust him just a bit more.

It was with that thought that he turned back to Himiko, and said nothing, but gave a small, silent nod.

With that, Himiko grabbed his hand, and gently pulled him downstairs and then outside the dorms.

Slowly, the two began their trek around the school, and it was only after a few minutes that Kokichi finally spoke up. “... So, uh, do either of us have to talk, or..?”

Himiko simply shrugged in response, just a few paces in front of Kokichi, no longer holding his hand. “I don’t think so… Besides, talking about stuff like…” She trails off, and even if she wasn’t facing Kokichi, something told him that she was almost afraid of mentioning what was on her mind. “... That, is pretty tiring sometimes…”

”... I thought the reason you wanted to do this was to get tired.”

Himiko turns and gives what he supposes is her version of a sharp glare. “... Be quiet. Don’t make me cast a silence spell on you.”

Kokichi can’t help the smile that appears on his face, locking his hands behind his head as he gave a small laugh. “Nishi nishi, alright, alright, I will. You don’t have to go that far!”

Eventually, Himiko turns back around, content with Kokichi’s answer, seeming almost too tired to care, or to even notice his different behavior..

The silence only lasts for about a few minutes longer before it’s once again broken. “... Hey Shuichi, do you…” She stops for a moment, waiting for Kokichi to actually look down at her before she continues. “... Do you feel guilty about what happened to Gonta?”

All Kokichi can see in his mind is the gentle giant getting cut in half by a giant insect, and he somehow physically feels his mental barriers coming down, and he speaks without thinking. “Yeah, of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

”Ah… I see.” Once again, the silence returns, yet this time, it’s more tense as all Kokichi thought about was the execution Gonta went through.

Thankfully, the walk finishes quiet soon after that, and Kokichi finds himself heading over to Shuichi’s room before suddenly, Himiko grabs his hand. “... I don’t think Gonta would want you to feel guilty…”

Wrong, Gonta wouldn’t want Shuichi to feel guilty, he was responsible for Gonta’s death, wasn’t he?

Actually wait, the more he thought about it, the more he remembered about what Gonta had said. Amongst his guilt and self hatred, he had forgotten the very words the gentle giant had said.

Wasn’t it that all he wished for was for them all to be friends, and not blame Kokichi for what happened? He was talking to the others when he said that, and yet when he said it, he was still as sincere as always. Dumb, yet sincere.

With that thought, a small smile made its way onto Kokichi’s face, and he teasingly, albeit gently, ruffled the hat on Himiko’s head just a bit, for once glad for the extra height he had now. “I think you’re right, Himiko. I’ll have to keep that in mind from now on.”

Himiko quickly slapped his hand away, a small, childish pout on her face. “Do that again, and I’ll cast a… a…”

Before she finished, a loud yawn escaped her mouth, prompting Kokichi to make his way back to Shuichi’s room. “Goodnight, Himiko.”

”Nyeh… G’night, Shuichi…”

###### 

For the first time since Kokichi had been trapped inside the killing game, he wakes up to the sound of the morning announcement ringing out of the speakers hidden somewhere inside the school.

_”Ahem, this is an announcement from the ultimate academy. Rise and shine kiddos! It’s another gorgeous day for a killing game!”_

With a small groan, Kokichi tries to smother himself with his own pillow in some attempt to block out the announcement, for once feeling too exhausted to get out of bed. The fact that he was woken up by that stupid monochrome bear wasn’t helping either.

_”So get out there, embrace your homicidal urges! ... And have a fabulous day.”_

Kokichi waits until the sound of the monitor turns off before he finally removes the pillow from his head. Maybe now he could go back to sleep, at least for a few minutes longer. There was only a bit of concern in the back of his mind about how exhausted he was, but he simply chalked it up to the weird dream he had about him and Shuichi. After all, there was no way that Monokuma was able to pull a scheme of that magnitude, but the very idea of it stressed him out.

”Hey! Hey, hey kid detective! Didn’t you hear me?”

For the second time in a row, Kokichi opens his eyes to see Monokuma standing beside his bed, yet this time, he doesn’t act in surprise, he simply stares at the bear, a blank look on his face, contradicting the sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized that what happened wasn’t a dream. “... Do you want something?”

A slight shiver went down his spine at the sound of Shuichi’s voice being so devoid of any emotions, but the bear doesn’t seem to notice as it growls. “How rude! Here I was, trying to help you get out of bed, and you think I’m not doing it out of the kindness of my heart?! Oh, boo hoo hoo!”

Kokichi simply ignores the bear as it breaks down into hysterics, yawning as he sat up in bed, before standing up and stretching his arms above his head.

He barely catches a glimpse of his reflection in the TV, and he can’t help but freeze up in shock for a moment as he sees Shuichi’s face instead of his own before he recovers, a small sigh leaving his mouth as he shook his head. He really hoped he wouldn’t to get used to seeing someone else’s reflection in place of his own. If he was having trouble with that, he wondered how Shuichi felt…

It was when he finally thought about Shuichi did he remember that he had no idea where Shuichi was, and that the only possible hint to his whereabouts would be in his room, considering what happened the night before.

While he had decided to trust in the detective’s judgment, that still didn’t mean that he couldn’t be concerned for him. After all, not only had Shuichi seen what he assumed was the end of the world, but his best friend had basically shunned him, and there was Monokuma’s new motive to boot…

Quickly, he left his room, ignoring Monokuma’s sharp “hey!” as he nearly ran, hoping to at least make it to the door of his actual room before he’s stopped.

His hopes are dashed the second he leaves his room though as he nearly runs into Keebo, only managing to stop at the last second before he does.

For a moment, the two simply stare at each other in stunned silence, before Keebo finally breaks it. “... Do I hear… Monokuma in your room?”

Kokichi glances behind him towards the open door of Shuichi’s bedroom, where the sound of Monokuma’s yelling was still heard, before he turns back to Keebo, grabbing the doorknob and nearly slamming the door shut without looking. “... No.”

”... Ah.” Keebo seemed to decide to not comment on it further, which was probably another perk of being Shuichi. You weren’t questioned excessively by everyone around you just for hiding something. “Well, it’s been awhile since we’ve last talked, and I quite enjoy our conversations, so I thought that we could at least have a small conversation as we walk to breakfast. How does that sound?”

It takes nearly all of Kokichi’s willpower to prevent himself from saying no, actually having to bite his lip to do so, yet that small voice in the back of his head persisted that he not break Shuichi’s act, and part of that included that he wasn’t supposed to search Kokichi Ouma’s bedroom.

Through clenched teeth, he forces a smile onto his face, nodding his head as he tried his best to make it look like Shuichi’s own for once, recalling his conversation with Tsumugi yesterday. “Sure, Keebo, that sounds like a great idea!”

Either it worked, or Keebo just wasn’t as perceptive as Tsumugi was, because the robot didn’t seem to notice a single difference as he grabbed Kokichi’s hand and almost dragged him out of the dormitory. “Thank you Shuichi! You won’t regret this!”

Kokichi could only nod, mumbling out a “I’m sure I won’t-” before Keebo suddenly launches into a spiell he could barely follow. He only catches the bare bones of it, something about Keebo’s own creator and his maintenance, something Kokichi had no experience in.

Luckily, he doesn’t get the chance to make up a lie if Keebo ever asked him for his opinion on what he was saying, almost afraid to do so in case he broke character, as Keebo spoke for the entire walk to the cafeteria, only stopping to see if Kokichi either shook his head or nodded.

Yet as they both walked to the cafeteria, Kokichi couldn’t shake off the faintest feeling of unease. Whether it had to do with the absence of anyone outside of the cafeteria or just that gut feeling he had, he couldn’t shake it off, and it only got worse the more they walked.

It was only when they made it to the cafeteria did Keebo finally stop, as well as that awful feeling finally leaving him as he saw the five other people stuck in the killing game.

... Wait a minute.

Kokichi shakes his head before recounting the amount of heads in the room, going from one side of the table to the other before he stops completely, his eyes remaining on the one and only person on the left side of the table.

It seemed that everyone that was already in the cafeteria was trying to ignore the boy sitting alone at the table, with the exception of Maki and Keebo, with the former staring at him like a guard dog and the latter staring at him in disbelief.

Kokichi doesn’t notice that right now though, all he sees is himself, sitting there with the blankest look on his face as he fiddles with the sleeve of his jacket, simply ignoring the people currently staring at him.

Kokichi quickly shakes his head at that thought. No, that wasn’t him sitting at the table, that was Shuich, and he can’t help but feel relief at the sight, although there’s still that ebbing concern that can’t help but nag at the corner of his mind. 

”... What are you doing?”

For once, Kokichi isn’t able to think before he speaks, and words leave his mouth before he truly thinks about them as he stares at the boy that he has been worried about all night.

Thankfully, it isn’t something that’s damning, and Shuichi only looks up at him for a moment before he looks around the room. “... Ah, I guess everyone is finally here, so now I can finally start talking.”

Before Kokichi can say anything else, Kaito jumps into the conversation, no longer able to avoid the boy at the other side of the table. “What the hell is so important that everyone had to be here? Are you finally going to apologize about what you did to Gonta?”

Kokichi half expects Shuichi to jump onto the opportunity to apologize, a reaction to what Kokichi would assume was some lingering guilt for his part in Gonta’s death. Another part of him expects Shuichi to simply tell them about Monokuma’s new motive in some small defiance towards Kokichi.

Shuichi shatters both of his expectations as he shakes his head, a small sigh leaving his mouth. “No, of course not. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, I don’t think it’s so important to tell everyone right after they wake up.”

”H-How could you say that?!” Himiko’s voice nearly quivers, somehow still looking surprised over “Kokichi’s” opinion on Gonta’s death, even after what happened right after Gonta’s execution. “Wasn’t Gonta your friend?! Don’t you care even a tiny bit about what happened to him?!”

For only a split second, Shuichi goes silent, and it’s only then that Kokichi notices how tense the other is, with Shuichi gripping tightly onto the sleeve of his jacket like a lifeline, as if the second he let go, any illusion he was trying to weave would be instantly shattered.

Before the silence stretches on for too long though, Shuichi shrugs, before waving Himiko off as he stood up. “Alright, fine, I guess I don’t have to tell you something so important. Such as, maybe…” For once, Shuichi finally pulls off a sly smile, not quite like Kokichi’s, but still quite unsettling. “... how to get outside of this academy?”

The first thought that comes into Kokichi’s head once he hears that is to tell Shuichi to stop talking, instantly remembering what happened when he showed Gonta the outside world, and he begins to open his mouth to do so before he catches Shuichi’s glare.

He had half expected Shuichi to at least have a hint of despair in his eyes, but there was something else entirely, something Kokichi saw while the two talked together, or during class trials when he saw that the other was lying and needed some help with it.

Shuichi was asking Kokichi to trust him, and he had only a few seconds to decide on how to react.

Dozens of thoughts race through his head, all of them flashing him through all of the worst and best case scenarios. Yet all of his thoughts stop once he realizes the implications of Shuichi’s sudden trust in him, and that being that he knew Kokichi wasn’t the Mastermind, and that he had found something out.

With that in mind, he keeps his mouth shut, and the moment passes, allowing Tsumugi’s voice to ring duly in his ears. “Th-That’s impossible! How did you find out something like that?!”

Any brief warmth that was in Shuichi’s eyes quickly dies as he smiles nonchalantly. “Oh, that’s not really important, now is it? I think what’s more important is the fact that I left everything you need right in front of the Death Road of Despair.”

”... And why, exactly, should we trust you?”

Shuichi shrugs at Maki’s question, somehow not cowering under her glare. “I dunno, I guess it’s up to you to decide whether to trust me or not.” Before Maki can say anything else, Shuichi gives a small, childish smile as he made his way towards the exit. “Anyway, I’ve said what I wanted to say. So, toodles!”

With that, Shuichi quickly escapes the cafeteria, leaving the others behind to discuss and argue about what he said.

Surprisingly, it’s Keebo who speaks up first, his voice cutting through the silence. “... So, what are we going to do?”

Kaito scoffs at Keebo’s question. “What do you mean “what are we going to do”? Don’t we already have a plan to escape this place?”

”While that may seem true, Kaito, you have failed to properly tell us the details of this plan, so I really can’t say whether I agree with it or not.”

”H-Hey! I was gonna-!”

”Even so,” Maki cuts in before Kaito has the chance to start an argument with the robot. “How do we know whether Kokichi is lying or not?”

”Isn’t it as simple as just checking to see if he actually left some stuff by that… Uhm… What did he call it? The Death Road of Despair?”

Kokichi, at that point, tunes out everyone else’s voice, ignoring how Maki sends a sharp glare at Tsumugi, trying to think of something to say in “Kokichi’s” favor that didn’t seem out of character.

”... U-Uhm…” He’s dragged out of his thoughts by the usually monotone voice, turning his head a bit to see Himiko tilt her hat down just a bit, as if to hide behind it. “... I think we should at least… Check to see if he was actually lying… You know, just in case.”

Unknowingly, Himiko had given him the proper opportunity, jumping in before anyone else could speak. “I agree with Himiko. We should at least check, and if he is lying, we could always just go along with whatever Kaito is planning.”

That’s what Shuichi did, right? Try to sound as if he was rooting for everyone, even if one of the people he mentioned was someone he detested? For once, maybe he got something right, as no one could really argue against what he said.

The next hour goes by in a blur for Kokichi, as they all head to the backyard of the school, going down the ladder only to see the electrohammers at the bottom, followed by them going through the underground passage leading to the so called exit with them, only fumbling for a few minutes before they eventually learned how to use the hammers properly. They all cheered each other on, besides Maki and himself, who both stayed towards the back, looking a bit anxious and tense, but both for, what Kokichi assumed was, polar opposite reasons.

It only got worse the farther they went on. He’s having second thoughts as they approach the exit,, an edge of doubt creeping into his mind when Kaito walks up to the electric lock with the electrohammer, yet just as he’s about to say something, it’s too late.

With a loud crash, followed by a dull buzz, the doors open, revealing the ruins of Earth to the last 6 survivors.

###### 

The sound of a dull buzz rang in Kokichi’s ears as he slowly woke up, at first confused by the sound. Was it some sort of alarm Monokuma had just started using in an attempt to mess with the remaining students? Or did someone actually tamper with the alarm itself to mess with the bear? Either way, the sound was annoying as hell, and he would rather just be asleep.

_”The door… is now… locked…”_

Kokichi’s eyes snapped open as he finally remembered that he wasn’t in bed, but at the end of the underground passage, laying down, staring up at the ceiling as he hears the sound of everyone slowly beginning to wake up and regain their bearings.

”That... “ Tsumugi’s voice is filled with fear, and Kokichi barely catches her trembling out of the corner of his eye. “What… W-Was that?”

”Why, it’s the outside world of course, what else did you expect?”

Kokichi quickly sat up, turning around just a bit to face Shuichi, who stood elevated above everyone else, right in front of the exit, a somewhat chilling smile on his face as he stared down at everyone else.

”Y-You… You have to be lying…”

Shuichi scoffs at Kaito’s words, waving the other boy off as he shakes his head. “No, for once, I’m telling the complete truth. After all, do you really think Earth would survive from a meteor shower like the one we saw in our memories?” He then gives a small chuckle. “Of course not! The Earth we know no longer exists! It’s been completely annihilated, and we’re all the last survivors!”

Silence penetrates the room at Shuichi’s words as everyone digested what Shuichi said, the terror from the memories they have gotten not helping their current mood at all.

”Th-Then why..?”

Kokichi turns a bit at Himiko’s quiet, timid voice, finally breaking eye contact away from Shuichi for once, even if the other was now speaking. “... Why what?”

”Wh-What’s the point, then..? Why did Monokuma have this killing game..? D-Did everyone just… D-Die for nothing..?”

When Kokichi looks back, for a second, Shuichi’s facade crumbles just a bit, revealing the kind, timid detective underneath, concern flashing in his eyes for just a moment before he remembers where he is, and it quickly vanishes. “Why, you ask? Well…” At this, he pauses, as if in deep thought, before the small smile returns. “Do you all remember that cult group that we all saw in our memories? Well, they were all opposed to this idea called the Gofer Project. Sound familiar?”

Before anyone had the chance to answer him, he continued on, even though he already knew that the answer was most likely a yes, as Kokichi had told him that Maki had found a document about such a project. “Anyway, to make a long story short, to avoid getting killed by them, the people in the Gofer Project tried to erase their talents and avoid the project, after all, isn’t it just cruel and depressing thinking about having to leave their whole family behind to die? When that didn’t work, they made an agreement with the people running the project, that if they were able to survive, they would go along with the project. Which included going into space and trying to find new life.”

”W-Wait a minute! We’re on a spaceship right now?! You expect us all to believe that?!”

Shuichi only sent a sharp glare towards Kaito before continuing, as if the other hadn’t spoken in the first place. “There was one major problem, though, the people running the project made one itsy bitsy mistake…” At this, his smile only grew more and more as he continued to speak. “They allowed the leader of the cult against the Gofer Project onto the ship, and with that, they brought along a very specific robot bear we’ve all grown to know and love…”

”... Are you referring to Monokuma?”

”Of course I am!” Shuichi scoffed at Keebo’s question, before giving a small, frustrated sigh. “God, I guess robots really aren’t as smart as humans if they can’t figure out something as simple as that…”

”H-Hey! First of all, it was a rhetorical question! And second of all, that’s-!”

”Just get to the point already.”

Even if Keebo wasn’t the one that Maki spoke to, he still shrunk away just a bit at her voice. Kokichi almost had to applaud the usually timid boy for at least not doing the same, but he still averted his eyes away from the assassin, his face now hidden from sight. “Well, the leader of this organization… The one that started this whole killing game is… Me!”

Suddenly, Shuichi turns arounds, and when he did, Kokichi felt a shiver go down his spine.

Even if it may be a lie, a facade, a trick, or whatever you wanted to call it, the wide, eerie smile that Shuichi stretches across Kokichi’s face in a way that was completely unnatural, that seems to almost rip apart what was now Shuichi’s face, does nothing but terrify him.

Still, the horror that he feels about Shuichi’s smile is nothing compared to the terror he feels at what he just admitted to. Does he not realize the target that is just painted on his back? If Maki was holding back just a bit before, she wouldn’t do so now if she was given the chance to kill Shuichi.

Thankfully, everyone was still feeling the overall shock from everything suddenly being revealed to them, still absolutely speechless, that he’s able to say something. “N-No!” He turns to everyone just a bit, addressing them more so than he’s addressing Shuichi, desperate for the other boy not to continue this lie. “That’s not true! He’s not the mastermind!”

Shuichi scoffs at his outburst, yet it feels like a stab in the back. “Really? Alrighty then, Mr. Ultimate Detective.” The title holds so much animosity that it almost surprises Kokichi, yet he doesn’t have time to think about it as Shuichi removes a familiar remote from his pocket. “How about I give you the proof to show you that I’m not lying?”

Of course, Kokichi knew what would happen next. In seconds, all of the exisals appeared besides Shuichi, drawing both gasps and even a scream from the remaining students, yet somehow, Shuichi’s voice still cuts through the chaos. “Ta-da! Oh, and don’t think about using the electrohammers. They’re supposed to run out of power right about…”

The sound of multiple electrohammers suddenly shutting off cut off Shuichi right before he finished, and the evil smile returned to his face at the sound. “... Now.”

For a few seconds, all Kokichi could do was think in the small frame of time as everyone suddenly yelled at Shuichi. Some in disbelief, others yelled threats, while Maki stood in the back, silently staring at Shuichi with a look of death in her eyes.

At this rate, even with the exisals, it wouldn’t be long before Shuichi would be hurt. He knew Shuichi wouldn’t fight back either, not even to preserve this act he had suddenly put on. No, he had to find a chance to talk to the other boy, to at least figure out why he was suddenly doing this, and what exactly he figured out.

It was only when his gaze finally landed on the exisal did a plan finally sprout in his mind. He knew Shuichi wouldn’t kill him with an exisal, he also knew that he had to keep up with his facade at the same time, so if he attempted to attack the so called “mastermind”, then maybe…

He didn’t have enough time to think through the plan, nor to think of the consequences, or how he would break character. Without second thought, he suddenly ran forward, yelling at the other boy. “Kokichi! You bastard!”

All of Shuichi’s evil act dropped away to shock as Kokichi ran towards him, at first freezing up, as if he finally realized the dangerous implications of his plan, before he impulsively grabbed the remote.

Kokichi already hears victory bells as he hears the mechanical whir of an exisal moving, yet he doesn’t hear the sound of footsteps behind him over it, nor does he realize they’re getting closer to him until someone suddenly pushed him to the side before the exisal gets to him first.

Neither does he get the chance to see who pushed him, as his head collides with the metal floor with a dull thud, his vision going black almost immediately, his hearing quickly following as he goes unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: oh i know what monokuma says in the morning announcement! ha ha 
> 
> me, five seconds later, replaying the game to figure that shit out because im a Dumbass: fuck. shit. goddammit
> 
> anyway one thing i was upset about in game was how himiko's plot development kind of stopped after ch 4 and she kind of got pushed to the side in ch 5 until the end of ch 6 during the class trial because i love her. anyway woo!!!!!! update time baby!!!! its late rn but i wanted to at least get this chapter out before i go to bed, so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'll double check it better for errors tomorrow morning.
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Feedback is welcomed/appreciated, and I hope you all have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankfully this update is out a little bit faster, and just before the holidays too (with that I wish you all happy holidays!), which is nice because while I keep saying "I'm gonna write!" over any holiday break I usually just go and play videogames (it doesnt help that all these good new games are coming out too and that I'm finding old games to play. curse you darksiders 3 and dead by daylight).
> 
> regardless, I hope you all enjoy this update! This was really, really fun to write, and I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> disclaimer: i own nothing

It was all going wrong.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.

She had hoped that Shuichi would distrust the supreme leader enough that it would just cause tension in the group, enough to, hopefully, have one kill the other, even if it may have seemed slightly out of character, but it had only done so much worse.

Now, not only had Shuichi ruined her killing game, but she was now getting the executives on her back, nagging her on about how the ratings were dropping and how she had to fix this as fast as she could, whether or not if she had to break the rules once again to do so was completely up to her.

It was one of the only few things that infuriated her, how her bosses now simply did this for the ratings and the money, unlike her, where she had loved the killing games since she was a child. Her dreams were filled with nothing but the pink haired fashionista and her despair for the world.

And now, finally, she had the chance to make that dream come true. She could easily recall the exact moment and the excitement she felt when she was told that she, a measly intern for the company, was going to be the mastermind for the next killing game.

And it was all crashing down around her, thanks to that stupid clown and the detective.

Damn it all, forget about what the executives wanted, they had requested that the killing games now should have no blatant connection to the first two until after the fifth class trial, but this was her game, and as she started to type into the machine’s database, intricately weaving the fake memories together into the flashback light, she can’t help but feel excitement for the despair of what was to come.

She wasn’t just going to kill Kokichi Ouma now, that would be too easy. She was going to get her revenge, and in the sweetest, most painful way possible.

###### 

The first thing Kokichi sees when he opens his eyes is the dull, gray ceiling he’s now familiar with, his mind completely blank for a few moments before a sharp pain pierces his skull, causing him to nearly hiss as he screwed his eyes shut, raising his hands to his head as he did.

Only to stop as his fingers made contact with a soft fabric against his head.

His eyes snap open as he grabs the fabric, tugging on it a bit only to realize that it was wrapped tightly around his head. Quickly, he gets up so he can see what exactly happened, only for him to stumble.

He would have fallen over if he didn’t reflexively steady himself with one hand against the wall, giving a small moan in pain as he raised his other hand to his head. Still, he makes his way towards the bathroom, still using the wall to stay upright as he moved.

He leaves the door open as he enters the bathroom, leaning forward on the counter in front of the mirror as support, and when he sees his reflection in the mirror, he is no longer that surprised when he sees Shuichi instead, especially because there was a few more pressing issues.

First off, his hair was completely unkempt, and despite only recently waking up, he looked as if he hadn’t slept in days, and the blank look that he currently had on his face didn’t help either.

Slowly, he raises one hand to his head, and gently brushes aside some of the raven hair on his head, revealing what seems to be a bandage underneath, one that wrapped around his head like some sort of bandanna. When he touches it once again, gently this time, he flinches just a bit in pain, before quickly retracting his hand.

The blank look turns into one of confusion, and he stares down at the sink as he searches his mind as for a reason as to why the bandage was there, even if the thinking made his brain hurt even more. The last thing he remembered was walking to the cafeteria with Keebo, and then…

His head snaps up as the memories came back to him, a small gasp leaving his mouth. The electrohammers, the outside world, Shuichi saying that he was the mastermind, running towards him, and then…

”Ah, Shuichi! It seems you’re finally awake!”

He flinches before he turns just a bit. Keebo slowly shuts the door behind him before he moves to stand in the bathroom’s doorway, giving what he could assume was a grimace as he finally sees Kokichi’s face. “... You look… A lot worse than I thought you would.”

Despite the grim thoughts in his mind, despite the situation he was in, despite how much he made fun of the robot, Kokichi couldn’t help but give a sharp laugh at the robot’s remark, a sly smirk making its way onto his face. Keeping in character be damned, he was just too tired to care at this point. “Really now? Because I feel fantastic!”

The robot gives a small, tired sigh as he shakes his head. “I’m going to assume that you’re being sarcastic, and try my best to ignore that statement.” The smile then returns to his face, as if he suddenly remembered why he was here. “Oh, since you’re awake, I should probably tell you what happened!”

It was then that Kokichi felt a somewhat unsettling feeling come over him, slowly starting to realize something, and that was that Keebo was acting weird. Yes, the robot was just a bit more detached from everyone else, at least emotion wise, but he would have expected the robot to at least be devastated after witnessing the truth of the outside world.

Actually, now that he thought about it, he remembered that Keebo did look upset, almost as much as everyone else.

So why was he so happy now?

”After you ran towards Kokichi, Kaito had ran forward, and pushed you out of the way before you were grabbed by an exisal.” Keebo then sighed, before shaking his head. “It was actually quite stupid of both of you, to be honest. Kaito got grabbed by an exisal, and Maki said you got a mild concussion from your head being slammed into the ground.”

Kokichi finds himself reaching up towards the bandage around his head reflexively as he inwardly cursed not Kaito, but himself. He should have thought of a better plan instead of just going head long into it without much thought. The only bright side to this was that he knew that Shuichi wouldn’t hurt Kaito.

Thankfully, Keebo took his frown as a different meaning entirely. “Ah, it’s okay though! It’s not like Kaito is dead or anything! Kokichi seemed a bit too shaken to kill him at that moment, so he took him back to the exisal hanger.”

”The exisal hanger..? How do you know he’s there?”

”It’s because I’ve been keeping watch.”

Kokichi freezes up completely at the sudden voice, his hand moving away from his head just a bit as he faced the newcomer in his room. He’s not able to muster up his “nice-detective” act fast enough for him to recover, and it’s Keebo that speaks first. “Oh, hello Maki! Are you here to check on Shuichi too?”

Maki doesn’t respond to Keebo, instead, she simply glares at Kokichi in silence, her eyes narrowing just a bit, and Kokichi finds himself shrinking away from her glare. He felt as if she knew the truth about the motive Monokuma had set up, and that she was finally going to kill him then and there.

Only for his panic to turn into confusion as Maki gave a small sigh, shaking her head as she looked off to the side. “... You’re just as stupid as Kaito sometimes.”

Ah, so that was her neutral face? Man, Shuichi really knew how to pick his friends.

He gives an uneasy laugh as he forces himself to stand up, yet still supports himself with one hand on the sink. “S-Sorry, I guess I wasn’t thinking straight…”

Another sigh leaves her mouth as she faces Kokichi once again. “And your irrationality knocked you out for a little over a day, gave you a mild concussion, and finished it off with making you look like complete garbage.”

”Y-Yeah, it wasn’t really… Wait.” Any act he had scraped together to pretend to be the detective fell away once he finally registered what Maki said, his face going blank. “You said I’ve been out for a day?”

Maki’s relief finally vanishes at Kokichi’s question, and he almost felt less unease at that. He was more used to the hostility that came from the assassin, and her having anything but hostility directed towards him was something he didn’t think he would get used to. “Yes. Almost two, actually, and you’ve missed a lot. I’m sure Keebo has filled you in on everything.”

”Actually..!” Keebo gave what sounded like a nervous laugh as he glanced at Maki sheepishly. “I… haven’t explained everything. Since he has a concussion, I thought it would be a bad idea to mention the flashback light, since using it on him might do more harm than good, as well as the plan…”

Kokichi almost felt his stomach drop. A flashback light this late in Monokuma’s latest motive only meant one thing, and that could lead to Shuichi’s death. After all, he’d only recently painted a huge target on his back, and now that the Mastermind has thrown out their bait, it was only a matter of time before someone tries to hit it.

He did doubt that whatever plan Keebo mentioned could actually harm Shuichi though, even if it did involve Maki, since he had a feeling that everyone else didn’t share her bloodlust. Still, it wouldn’t really hurt to figure out what it was, and it could probably help him even.

Before Maki could even get the chance to reply, Kokichi quickly shook his head, forcing a smile onto his face as he spoke, trying to make it seem sincere instead of teasing. “No, it’s fine. You can at least tell me about the plan. Does it involve saving Kaito?”

He tries to avoid looking at Maki as Keebo thinks, yet he can still feel her gaze piercing into his skull as he awaits the robot’s reply.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take that long for him to get a response. “... I… I guess we could tell you. Is that okay, Maki?”

Kokichi still doesn’t turn to look at Maki, but he guesses that she gives some sort of nod or confirmation, since the robot seems to relax a bit before he continues speaking. “We’re planning to storm the exisal hanger with the electrohammers the next morning to rescue Kaito.”

Ah, that seemed simple enough. “Alright then, but what exactly are you guys going to do about Kokichi? It’s not like he’s just going to surrender.”

Knowing Shuichi, at this rate, if it meant hurting more people that he considered to be friends, then he would probably surrender. It’s that thought that doesn’t really prepare him for what Maki says next.

”I’m going to kill him.”

Kokichi feels his grip on the counter tighten as he finally turns to face Maki, unable to see Keebo open his mouth to try and step in, and he can’t keep up the detective act anymore, and neither is he able to hide the immediate disgust he feels as he speaks. “Are you serious? Is that really your answer to everything?”

Even if her face doesn’t change that much, she actually flinches just a bit at Kokichi’s words, as if he was about to physically slap her, before she glares back at him. “Keeping him alive would only cause more trouble than it’s worth. Eliminating him is the only way to ensure that no one else will die.”

For a split second, Kokichi wants to tell her about Monokuma’s new motive, almost wanting to see if she would be horrified at the idea of her thinking about murdering one of her only few friends.

The only thing that stops him is the fact that Maki would never believe him, even if he did look like someone she trusted, and instead opts to do what he considered the second best thing, which in hindsight was probably much worse.

He laughs, shaking his head as he did. “Wow, you’re just as bad as Monokuma then, you’ll just do anything to get someone killed!”

For once, for just the smallest of moments, Maki is speechless, staring at him with a blank look while Keebo can only look at the two in horror.

While it feels like an eternity for Kokichi, in reality, that silence ends just as quickly, and it’s only then that Kokichi realizes what he said. With that realization comes a sharp knife of guilt deep in his chest, and it baffles him for just a moment. Even if he has said some hurtful things before, none of the guilt before has clouded his judgement so much as he scrambles for an answer. “W-Wait, Maki, I-”

”It’s fine.” Maki’s voice is monotone, devoid of anything, and even if he’s used to hearing her voice like that, it sends a small shiver down his spine. “... If you’re so adamant about keeping that bastard alive, I guess I can’t do anything about it.”

With that, she quickly leaves, her head bowed down a bit, as in shame. Kokichi would have laughed if he already wasn’t clouded with guilt. What sort of person like her felt shame? He had been right, after all, she’d been trying to kill him for the longest time, he was almost used to it.

Yet that guilt still persisted, mixing with his confusion over it, causing his headache to only get worse, giving a small, pained sigh as he rubs his head with his free hand as he screwed his eyes shut.

”... I-If…” Ah, he almost forgot Keebo was still there. He forces his eyes to open as he turned to the robot, who nervously fidgets, for once reading the tension in the air correctly. “If you w-want to help rescue Kaito, I don’t think anyone would stop you... After the morning announcement tomorrow, we’re all going to meet up in the morning with the electrohammers, so…”

Kokichi watches as the robot trails off into silence, who obviously wanted to say more but couldn’t quite phrase what it was. Instead of helping the robot, he simply gives a small smile, his detective’s mask returning. “Great, I’ll see you all tomorrow then. Thanks, Keebo.”

The robot seems surprised at his words, as if he was expecting the same treatment Maki got. Yet he doesn’t stay around to see if Kokichi would take back his thanks, instead giving a small nod before he quickly leaves the room.

With that, he was finally allowed to think, giving a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, his gaze dancing across the room before it finally settles on the mirror in front of him.

Shuichi stares back at him, that tired, somewhat annoyed expression mirroring his own, his hair so unkempt that it nearly hides the bandage around his head.

For a few seconds, he simply stares at his reflection, before he gives a tired smile. “Well, Shuichi, I guess this really has taken a turn for the worse, right? Ha…”

His laugh eventually trails off, before he frowns, finally realizing what exactly he’s doing, shaking his head as he forced himself to stand up straight and walk out of the bathroom and into the main part of the room. “Okay, that was weird. Putting that on a list of things never to do again.”

It takes him only a few seconds to find the electrohammer someone left in his room, and only a few seconds more to plug it in. Once he was done, he stretched his arms above his head as he tried to think of what he should do, ignoring the sharp pain in his skull.

It was only then that he felt that something was in his pocket, freezing up for a moment in confusion before he suddenly remembers what exactly he was carrying.

Still, he takes the remote to the exisal hanger’s alarm out of his pocket, examining it to make sure nothing was wrong with it. He had forgotten about how Monokuma had given it to him when he looked over the exisal hanger with Keebo, and he hadn’t mentioned it to Shuichi either, now that he thought about it. If he did, he probably would have grabbed it.

The remote suddenly feels hot in his hands as the thought of Maki stealing it crosses his mind, and his grip on the device tightens before he pockets it once again. He should give it to Shuichi the first chance he gets.

But first, it’s probably a good idea if he finds Tsumugi and Himiko to see if they were planning anything, although he doubted it, and to check a few other places around the school, just to be safe.

###### 

Even if he had been asleep for nearly a day, the corridor leading to the exisal hanger hasn’t really changed that much. Well, save for the four exisals walking around Monokuma.

It’s something that gives him pause, staring at the bear in the center of the four exisals, who sees him too, evident about how Monokuma begins waving for help.

Kokichi simply smiles at the bear, waving goodbye before he resumes his walk towards the hanger, the small makeshift bag he made out of the bandanna Shuichi had left wrapped around the electrohammer still tight in his hand.

As he approaches the hanger, he takes one more look around, making one last check to see if anyone was following him, before he removes the alarm’s remote from the bag. With only the press of a button, the alarm system in front of the door shuts down with a dull whir.

There’s the sound of something crashing inside the hammer, and Kokichi can’t help but give a small laugh, even if he’s suddenly feeling anxious. He had to be fast about this, just in case someone else came by. “Hey, Kokichi, let me in, I just want to talk.”

It was a last minute idea to keep up the act he was slowly getting used to, just in case Kaito was listening in. He could only hope that Shuichi hadn’t told the other boy about the motive, even if he couldn’t blame him if he did, even if it would ruin his plan.

The hanger is silent for a minute or so before the barrier in front of the gate shuts off, and the gate is lifted slightly, just enough for Kokichi to quickly go inside before it shuts behind him.

He looks up as Shuichi presses some buttons on the console beside him, supposedly to put the electric barrier back up, before he turns to face him. “What are you doing here? How did you even turn off the alarm?” He then seems to notice the bandage wrapped around his head, as his eyes suddenly widen. “O-Oh god, what happened to you? Who did that?”

Kokichi gives a devious smile as he holds up the remote to the alarm in his hand, ignoring the questions about his injury in favor of teasing the other boy. “That’s all thanks to this. It just shuts off the alarm with a push of a button.” He nearly shoves it into the other boy’s hands, almost feeling a weight was lifted off his back once he no longer had the remote. “Sorry I didn’t tell you about it before, I just didn’t imagine you’d be holding hostages in the hanger of all places when I got it.” With that, he looks around for said hostage, keeping an eye out for a small amount of purple, before he faces Shuichi again. “By the way, where is your little hostage anyway?”

Shuichi blinks a few times in stunned silence, the remote almost falling out of his hands before he finally gets a grip on it. At Kokichi’s question, Shuichi points towards the bathroom in the corner of the hanger. “I’ve had him locked up in there the entire time. He’s asleep right now... I also, ah…” He pauses for a second, taking one look at the bathroom before he speaks, his voice somehow quieter than before. “I haven’t told him about what Monokuma did to us.”

For once, Kokichi is unable to hide his shock, staring down at the boy in front of him as he tried to think of some reason for this sudden change in behavior Shuichi had. Ever since Kokichi had told him that he was the mastermind, he would think that Shuichi would take any chance he would get to somehow deceive him, yet now, of all things, he was almost helping him.

Shuichi must realize what he was thinking, so he quickly rushes to explain himself. “A-After I saw what happened to the outside world, I ran back to your room, since that seemed to be the safest place to be. At first, I couldn’t really believe it, so I started to go into denial, but then I… Realized a few things that don’t really make sense if the outside world is destroyed.” 

Huh, so he was in his room the entire time? “Really? Like what exactly?”

”Well…” He takes one more glance towards the bathroom, as if Kaito would tell him to continue, before he shakes his head. “... I can’t say it now, it’d probably take too long to explain anyway. I wrote everything down on some papers in your room.” He then gives a sheepish smile, tugging on the new bandanna around his neck as he gave a small laugh. “Sorry…”

Seeing that reminded Kokichi about the other stuff he had, and he quickly waves Shuichi off as he shakes his head. “It’s fine, most of it is scrap anyway, more importantly…” He holds the bag out towards Shuichi. “We’ve got a few problems, mainly, the others are going to attempt a rescue of sorts tomorrow morning after the announcement, but I think someone else has other ideas.”

Shuichi gives the other a confused look as he grabs the makeshift bag, but it disappears once he sees what’s inside, his eyes widening as he looks up towards Kokichi. “I-Isn’t this..?”

”No, it’s quite the opposite, actually. What you have there is more of a backup plan in case things go south.” The idea of that happening makes him want to puke, the very last thing he wanted was for anyone else to get killed, most of all Shuichi. He tugs on the end of sleeve just a bit in some way to get rid some of his tension as he continues. “Still, it’d be a good idea to find somewhere else to hide. If there’s someway I can help, I’ll definitely help.”

Much to Kokichi’s own surprise, Shuichi isn’t shocked about how willing Kokichi was to help, instead, he thinks on it for a few moments before shaking his head. “... No, I think I’ll be fine. I have an idea, and while it might be difficult, I think I’ll be able to pull it off...” He trails off as he thinks on it for a few seconds longer, before he finally looks back up at Kokichi. “By the way, is everyone else okay? I know I gave everyone quite a scare back there, but I just…” Once again, he doesn’t finish his sentence, he only looks down in guilt, as if realizing any excuse he gives won’t be one Shuichi himself can justify.

That guilt from when he talked to Maki earlier returned, and it was only then that he realized what he had done. Instead of helping the detective, he not only inadvertently ruined his relationship with Kaito, but with Maki as well.

He’d have to find someway to fix it, but for now, he can simply lie, as he’s always had. At least this time, it was one of his kinder ones, placing a reassuring hand on Shuichi’s shoulder almost reflexively, even if he’s never really done it before. “Everyone’s fine, Shuichi. Don’t worry.” He then smiles, a bit of teasing leaking into his voice now as he spoke. “Besides, do you really think they would try to rally against the mastermind if they weren’t?”

Still, the other boy didn’t look up, his hands now clenched tightly into fists as he shook his head. “No, but… I feel like I’ve done something awful, and that I’ll never be able to apologize.” The other boy then laughs, and it’s only then that Kokichi realizes that the other was crying, using one of his sleeves in an attempt to wipe away the tears as he looks up at Kokichi. “God, I don’t know how you’ve done this for so long.”

Without second thought, or rather, without even thinking, he tentatively hugs the other boy, careful enough so Shuichi could deny it if he wanted to.

Yet he doesn’t. He simply burrows his face into the other’s chest as he cries, gripping onto Kokichi’s shirt as if it was a lifeline, and Kokichi said nothing, allowing the other boy to cry, even if what Shuichi just said left him with nothing but questions.

Eventually, Shuichi answered regardless, still not out of the hug as he spoke, his voice slightly muffled by fabric. “... I saw your motive video and… A few other things while I was in your room.”

At this, Kokichi tensed, yet Shuichi continued speaking anyway. “... I don’t think you’re the mastermind, and I… I don’t think you wanted to hurt anyone…” He then looks up at Kokichi, eyes red rimmed from tears. “... Right?”

The look on Shuichi’s face is definitely something he’s not used to, and neither is what the other boy is saying, almost unable to think of a proper response. In the end, he can only nod.

Something akin to understanding flashes in Shuichi’s eyes, and he finally returns the hug Kokichi has given him as he finally looks away. “... I’m sorry that you had to do all those things, Kokichi.”

It’s those words that somehow cause genuine tears to appear in Kokichi’s eyes, and he suddenly feels choked up. It’s a feeling he doesn’t like, one that is familiar to how he felt right before Gonta was executed.

He forces himself to give a small, somewhat choked chuckle as he gets out of the hug, looking away as he raised a hand to his face, hoping for his tears to remain inconspicuous. “A-Ah, it’s fine, it’s kind of my fault anyway, y’know? I just find it kind of hard to trust people in this situation.”

For a few seconds, Shuichi says nothing, thankfully opting out of mentioning that Kokichi was about to cry, as if carefully deciding on what to say next.

The next words he says are quiet, barely heard, even in the nearly silent hanger. “... But you trust me now, right?”

At first, Kokichi ponders that answer, his mind flashing towards the whiteboard he had in his room, as well as the many pictures on it. He recalls that he had written the words “trustworthy?” on it, as well as the reasons as to why he had done so.

Eventually, he turns to face Shuichi, giving a small smile as he gave a somewhat joking thumbs up. “Awh, of course. Why shouldn’t I trust my best detective buddy?”

###### 

That night, Kokichi doesn’t sleep that much, which doesn’t help at all the next morning after he wakes up after the lifeless morning announcement, when he has a pounding headache, making it hard to change the bandage around his head.

Still, the injury doesn’t look that bad underneath, even if his head hurt like hell. Besides, it’s not like he could really stay in bed all day anyway.

It takes him a only a few minutes to grab the now fully charged electrohammer and to make his way to the cafeteria, coming across no one along the way.

There’s a small bit of worry that enters his mind, telling him that he missed the meeting time and that everyone was already storming the exisal hanger, yet it quickly disappears once he finally makes it to the cafeteria where everyone, even Maki, was there.

”There you are? What took you so long?” Tsumugi is the first one to see him, her voice cutting through the dull chat Himiko and Keebo were having.

Kokichi simply points towards the bandage on his head, a shy smile now on his face as he gave a small, almost empty laugh. “Sorry, it took awhile to change the bandages…”

Maki gives a small, impatient sigh as she shakes her head. “Can we get going already? We’re already running late. We can all have this small talk once we get Kaito back.”

With that, everyone else falls silent in agreement, simply following Maki as they walk outside the cafeteria.

Kokichi doesn’t miss the glare that bounces off the knife in Maki’s hand as it’s hit by the artificial sunlight.

He makes a mental note to make sure Maki doesn’t get too close to Shuichi as they make their way down the dimly lit hallway towards the hanger. He wasn’t going to allow another person he trusts and cared for get hurt ever again, not on his watch.

Yet an eerie feeling comes over him as he sees that all the exisals around Monokuma had stopped, with said bear missing from its center. It only grows once they all get to the front of the hanger, with Maki using an electrobomb that she somehow got, probably from Miu’s talent lab, deactivating the alarm system, and he sees the console that Keebo hits with his electrohammer covered in dozens upon dozens of scratches.

He helps Tsumugi and Himiko lift the shutter, and once it’s open, all of them run inside, weapons raised to face what Kokichi hopes is a room absent of people.

What he sees is much, much worse.

Blood leaks out of the hydraulic press off to the side, with some sort of cloth sticking out from underneath. The site of it is so bizarre that he doesn’t quite believe it’s real until he finally hears-

_ding dong ding dong…_

_”Puhuhu…. Puhuhuhuhu! A body has been discovered!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> it just wouldn't be a dr fic without some good old fashion murder, now would it?
> 
> Feedback is welcomed/appreciated, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h
> 
> hey gamers
> 
> it's been awhile huh?
> 
> Im not gonna talk much and just gonna go onto the fic. disclaimer: i own nothing

_”Everyone, please gather in the exisal hanger! Ahahahaha, the killing game just keeps going and…”_

Kokichi doesn’t hear what Monokuma says next, and neither does he feel his own legs give out underneath him. All he sees is the hydraulic press in front of him, the piece of cloth sticking out underneath. He felt as if he could almost touch the blood pooling around it, cascading down his fingers, staining his hands that damning red.

It might as well be, as regardless of who was under that press, deep down, he knew that their death was his fault. Kaito wouldn’t even be in the hanger if it wasn’t for his stupid plans, and Shuichi- Oh god, the thought of Shuichi being under that press brings some bile into his throat, and his world begins to spin around yet all he can see is red.

His thoughts stop as he feels someone pulling on his sleeve, his eyes finally focusing as he looks up to see a panicking, frightened Himiko with tears falling down her face. “Sh-Shuichi..! Shuichi, please get up..!”

It takes a few seconds for Kokichi to come to his senses, only to finally realize that there were tears running down his face as well. Quickly, he gets up, using his free arm to wipe the tears off as he does. Seeing this, Himiko stops tugging on his sleeve, but still holds onto it as she now looks at him with not only panic and fear now, but concern. “A-Are you okay..?”

For once, he doesn’t feel the urge to burst out into laughter at such a stupid question. All he feels is depressed as he slowly nods his head, forcing his voice to be steady and trying not to puke as he spoke. “Y-Yeah, I’ll… I’ll be fine…”

Yet he is unable to take his eyes away from the hydraulic press, and it’s only then that he finally notices that the blood soaked sleeve in the hydraulic press belongs to Kaito.

For the smallest of seconds, hope rises in his chest, but it is quickly smashed down with shame. Even if there was the chance that Shuichi wasn’t the one under that press, someone is still dead because of him.

”Aw, darn, I don’t see why I even bothered with that announcement if everyone is already here…”

Kokichi feels Himiko’s grip on his sleeve tighten as Monokuma appears before him, yet he barely pays any mind to it, all he feels is anger as he stares down at the robotic bear before him. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He flinches back at the words just a bit, not used to hearing such anger in Shuichi’s voice at all, yet no one seems to notice it, especially now, with all their questions being thrown at the bear.

Yet the bear chooses to only answer Kokichi’s question, waving off everyone else as he waddled up to him. “Well, even if my cute little cubs aren’t here, the Monokuma Files still have to be passed out, y’know?” The closer the bear gets, the farther Himiko seems to hide behind Kokichi, finally letting go of his sleeve, yet Kokichi only continues to glare down at the bear as the robot’s smile somehow grows. “After all, you still have to find out who’s really at fault for this little incident, right?”

He knows that the bear is only trying to provoke him, and he tries not to react to it, but god damn, he just can’t help himself as he roughly snatches the tablet out of the bear’s hand, biting his lip to prevent himself from making some sort of snarky comeback as he glared down at the bear.

Monokuma only laughs, passing out the rest of the Monokuma Files as he dances around. “Now now, don’t get too mad just yet. There’s still the heart racing, fast paced class trial ahead of you! … Speaking of, I got to prepare for it! Toodle oo!”

With that, the bear disappeared, leaving behind the five remaining students to think about his words.

”... Wait, there’s going to be… Another class trial?”

Maki simply nods at Tsumugi’s words, and it’s only then that Kokichi realizes that Maki rarely takes her eyes off the bloody hydraulic press. “Yes, and if so, then that means that the Mastermind, Kokichi, is still alive, and he’s the one who killed-.”

”No.”

Maki turns around so fast that Kokichi wouldn’t be surprised if her neck hurt, but that is the last thing on his mind as Maki’s eyes narrow and she nearly hisses out. “What do you mean “no”?”

Now that’s the Maki he was used to. For once since this entire motive, he’s finally felt somewhat normal when talking to someone else, even if it was Maki he was talking to. “I mean exactly that. We haven’t even read the Monokuma File, so how can we even say that Kokichi was the one who killed Kaito? Or if he’s even the one under that press...”

He feels himself twitch just a bit at the mere thought of Shuichi being the one under the press, even if he was the one who said it, gripping his sleeve tightly as the small frown on his face somewhat deepened. Thankfully though, no one seems to notice, as all of their eyes were on Maki now, who was now seeming to radiate hostility. “... Are you saying that Kaito could have killed someone?”

Kokichi can’t help the small scoff that leaves his mouth, shaking his head as he waves her off. “No, of course not. Kaito doesn’t really have the guts to commit murder-”

”So are you saying that it was one of us that commited this murder?”

”N-No!” Himiko’s voice is somehow sharper than Maki’s as she finally moves from behind Kokichi. “There’s no way! None of us could have gotten inside without getting caught, a-and the only people inside the hanger last night was Kokichi and Kaito, r-right..?” 

Kokichi pauses for just a split second at Himiko’s words. He hadn’t expected her to step into the conversation, considering how she always seemed to cower and stop talking whenever Maki was like this. Still, he forces himself not to think about it for now, instead opting to focus on the conversation he was having now, and opting to talk to Himiko later.

He hadn’t really had the time to even consider that possibility in the first place, but of course, Kaito and Shuichi couldn’t have killed anyone. So that must mean that the killer was someone outside the hanger.

Could it even be possible though? Like Himiko said, even if the murderer was the mastermind, which he honestly doubted, it would be quite difficult to sneak into the hanger undetected.

”S-Shuichi..?”

Yet the possibility remained, and his lack of a response seems to be the only answer Maki needs as she scoffs, shaking her head as she walked past Kokichi and to the hanger’s exit. “... I guess Kaito was right about you. You really don’t trust anyone, not even your friends.”

Kokichi feels his hands tighten themselves into fists as he heard Maki’s footsteps slowly lose their small echo. For the first time, he can’t really control his anger as he speaks up, loud enough so that Maki would hear. “It’s killers that I don’t trust, Maki, and I guess you kind of are one.”

He doesn’t turn around, even when the footsteps stop. For a split second, he assumes that Maki would attempt to strangle him once again, already feeling the tightness in his throat.

Yet after a few seconds, the footsteps resume, and they eventually fade away.

”... U-Uhm… I… I’m going to investigate outside the hanger, then!”

Keebo quickly leaves before anyone else had the chance to say anything, leaving Kokichi, Himiko, and Tsumugi behind in the tense silence.

It takes a few more seconds for the silence to feel suffocating to Kokichi, and he quickly walks away towards the door in the back of the hanger where, hopefully, he could get just a moment of peace to think.

He enters the room so quickly that he doesn’t even look around before shutting the door behind him, only able to register that he was inside some sort of bathroom area after he recollected himself.

It was only when he shut the door behind him did he notice the pool of blood in the middle of the floor.

He stares at the bloodstain, as if in shock, before he finally walks towards it, kneeling down to get a closer look at not only the stain, but also the items around it. Which was a bottle of… What he could only assume was some sort of poison from what was left on its label, a crossbow, as well as three arrows and the bag that must have come along with it.

”... The… The murder must have happened in here..?” Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t even looked at the Monokuma file yet. With that thought, he finally takes it out, taking a long, deep breath before he turns it on, mentally preparing himself for what the file could list as the victim.

_The victim’s body was discovered in the hangar where the Exisal was stored… The victim was crushed by a hydraulic press. For this reason, their remains cannot be identified._

”... What?” He scrolls back to the first page of the file, assuming that his eyes must be playing some sort of trick on him. But no, the victim is still listed as unknown, and there’s not even a hint to show who exactly was under the press, or even how they died.

With that, he gives a small, frustrated sigh, turning off the Monokuma File as he gets to his feet, the beginnings of a headache starting to prick at the edge of his head. He could only assume that Monokuma had left the identity of the victim unknown simply to make the trial more annoying.

Yet he also can’t help but feel relieved as well, clutching the Monokuma file tightly to his chest as he stared down at the ground.

If the victim was unknown, then that means that, however minuscule it may be, there was a possibility that Shuichi wasn’t under the press.

Yet that also meant that Kaito was the one under the press, and with that realization, he crushed that relief in his mind, pocketing the Monokuma file as he turns to the sink. Regardless of who is under the press, regardless of who the murderer was, the only thing he was absolutely certain of was that there will be no happy ending.

The headache that was beginning to grow worse in his mind wasn’t going to be of any help either.

The sink turns on easily enough, and it doesn’t take long for the water to warm up as well. He tries to ignore how the pounding in his head seems to make wherever he smacked his head almost unbearably painful as he cups his hands together, gathering water in them before he splashes his face, trying his best not to get water anywhere so the crime scene wouldn’t be contaminated.

After splashing his face a few times, he turns off the water and looks up at his reflection, even if his vision was slightly blocked by his now wet bangs. With a disapproving pout, he quickly shoves them off of his face, ignoring how it only made his face even wetter and how it almost caused the bandage around his head to fall off.

Rather, he stares at his reflection, yet this time, it wasn’t in regret or shock, but a blank look that revealed nothing as the gears slowly turned in Kokichi’s head as he’s finally able to think clearly.

Eventually, he stands back up straight, allowing the bangs to fall back into place as he covers his face with one hand, placing the other on his hip as he shut his eyes and sighed. “Shuichi, what happened here..? What did you do-?”

He freezes up at the sound of a creak, turning around quickly to barely see the door leading to the hanger slightly open, almost swinging just a tad bit in place.

He stares at the door for what feels like forever before he shakes his head, opting to instead investigate the bathroom. Whoever was at the door probably didn’t see that much, and even if they were there the whole time, all they would see was “Shuichi” berating himself in the third person. Weird, but nothing that revealed Monokuma’s motive.

With that thought in mind, he begins to examine the bathroom, careful not to kneel down onto the bloodstains.

Yet there was really nothing more than what he saw. Including the bloodstain leading outside the bathroom, there was the crossbow, the three bolts, a black case, and the bottle that was covered in blood.

The only thing he actually examined closely was the small bottle on the ground, actually picking it up to take a closer look.

At first, he tried his best to wipe the bloodstains away, or at least off the label, using his still slightly wet hands to try and do so, but it seems that the stains would simply remain where they were the longer he tried, so he eventually stopped. Still, the only word visible on the label was quite telling on its own.

The word poison greets his eyes with a dull blue, and Kokichi can’t help but smile just a bit at that. If there was one thing he had been right about since this motive began, it was at least the assumption that this poison would be used.

Investigating the rest of the bathroom yields nearly nothing for awhile, besides the possibility that someone could have shot the crossbow and killed someone from the outside through the small window. Yet he immediately dismissed the idea. For that to work, they’d have to corporate with whoever was left alive in the hanger, and regardless of who was left behind, he didn’t doubt that both Shuichi or Kaito would refuse to help.

As he looks away from the small window though, he freezes up as something catches his eyes.

It takes him a few seconds to realize that what was in the toilet was some sort of cloth, and it takes him a few seconds to realize what exactly the cloth was. Without thinking twice, he shoves his sleeves up to cover his hands entirely before he dunks his hands inside, quickly extracting the clothes from it. Yet once it’s finally out, he can’t help but drop it onto the ground as fear overtakes his face.

His breathing starts to race as he sees the holes on the back and sleeve of his outfit, blood leaving a thin trickle downwards on the white fabric. Yet there was also what seemed like a piece of the left sleeve torn away jaggedly, with said sleeve covered in blood.

He stumbles back until his back hits the wall, sliding down the wall onto the ground as tears begin to fall down his face, trying his best to muffle any potential crying my covering his mouth with his hands. Yet he’s unable to stop the words that pass his lips. “Oh god, Shuichi, I’m… I-I...

He can’t say anything more, he feels like if he says anything else, he wouldn’t be able to stand up. Instead, he screws his eyes shut, and digs his wrists into his eye sockets in some attempt to stop crying, trying his best to somehow rationalize this.

Kaito’s clothes were under the hanger, so didn’t that mean that it could only be him under the press? But that meant that Shuichi would be the one that murdered him, yet there’s no way Shuichi would kill anyone, right?

He digs his wrists deeper into his eyes once he realizes that he thought he couldn’t murder anyone either. Then again, Shuichi was better than him in every way possible, besides the fact that he seemed to trust an assassin, of all people.

The thought of Maki had him freeze up completely, his eyes shooting open as he lowered his hands from his face.

That’s right, there was the still the possibility that a third party was involved, right? Maybe whoever was left in the hanger had to hide from the true killer, and are somewhere safe. Well, as safe as they could be in the killing game. If he could find some sort of evidence as to how someone got into the hanger, maybe he could at least save whoever survived inside the hanger.

With that thought, he forces himself to his feet, clenching his fists together at his sides as he took a deep breath before he made his way to the bathroom’s exit.

Whoever wasn’t under that press, whether it be Shuichi or Kaito, won’t need to wait that much longer to appear again, as for once, Kokichi was going to finally help the others find the killer of this case, even if it meant trusting them all just a bit more.

###### 

It didn’t take that long to investigate the main hanger, as Keebo shared the info he had collected while Kokichi was in the bathroom. Which, quite frankly, didn’t include much of what he didn’t know. He already knew about the system implemented into the press to stop any living beings from being crushed, as well as how the hanger door functioned. The only thing worthy of being noted was the tampering of the hydraulic press, implying that whoever killed the victim really didn’t want them to know who was alive or not.

Still, he remained optimistic as he left to investigate the rest of exisal hanger, adamant that whoever was the murderer was not one of the two in the hanger. Of course, he didn’t quite enjoy the thought of someone else being the killer and being executed, but it was the only thought that kept him from bursting into tears once again.

He cautiously looks outside, taking note that Maki was nowhere near the exit of the small hanger before he finally steps outside. Even if he didn’t want to upset Maki purely for Shuichi’s sake, he didn’t regret a single word he made towards the assassin earlier, now that he thought about it. Besides, he could apologize anyway once the motive was gone and everything was set right, and she could finally start hating him properly again.

Still, there’s a voice in the back of his mind telling him that what he done was wrong, and he tries his best to ignore it as he examines the scratches on the panel outside of the gate that he noticed earlier.

He already knew that Maki got everyone, herself included, inside the hanger this morning due to an electrobomb she, somehow, got her hands on. If his theory was correct, the real killer must have done something similar to get inside the hanger, as it seems that the scratch marks on the console didn’t really do anything.

Regardless, the fact remained that they were there, and he couldn’t help but wonder why. It was a pointless action that didn’t help in the slightest, so why even attempt such a thing?

In the end, he only sighs as he walks away to investigate the rest of the hanger. He could always think about the scratched console sometime later anyway.

It didn’t take that long to reach his next target, which was the middle of the hanger where Monokuma once was.

He pays no heed to the exisals, already knowing that they were shut down, and only irrationally fearing them would waste even more time than he already had. With that thought, he approaches one of them, placing a hand to his chin as he looks over the large robot.

”Oh, interested in my machines, aren’t you?”

At this point, Kokichi is so used to Monokuma’s random appearances that he simply glances down at the bear for a moment before he looks back at the exisal. “You could say that… Is it possible for a human to pilot one of these things?”

The bear hums in thought for a moment before he answers. “Well, I think so. They would just have to get through the electromagnetic lock on the hatch first, and then viola! You’ll be fighting angels to protect the Earth in no time at all!”

Kokichi wasn’t listening to the bear at this point, having tuned out once he got the information he needed. For once, the bear seems to finally be affected by the lack of a response or a listener, giving a small sigh as he shuffled his feet on the ground below, not even bothering to say goodbye, only mumbling under his breath before he vanished. “Gosh, it seems you’ve gotten boring since I started this motive. I knew we shouldn’t have used it…”

Still, Kokichi doesn’t listen, staring at the exisal still before realization dawns on his face.

He begins to walk around the small section of the hanger, having the faintest idea of what he was looking for before he finally finds it in the far corner of the hanger.

As he picks it up, realization slowly turns to anger, clutching the handle of the electrohammer in his hands tighter as he began to dawn on something, as he only knew of one person that didn’t have their electrohammer this morning. It could also explain the scratch marks on the console.

Before he can begin searching for them though, the sound of a jingle fills the air.

_bing bong bing bong…_

_”Puhuhuhu… it’s time!~ That’s right, it’s time for the class trial, where hope and despair meet head-on! Please proceed to the Shrine of Judgement in the courtyard, and head to the trial grounds!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no excuses for how long this update took. let's just say stuff got hectic and I rarely had time to write, but with things finally calming down, I've decided to just muscle through this entire chapter in one day to get it out before my b day rolls around.
> 
> im very tired
> 
> im not editing this rn but probably in like a week at most, by Friday at the least.
> 
> I'm sorry if i sound upset or annoyed or anything negative at all! That's not my intention whatsoever, I just want to write something that everyone can enjoy, and if anything, I'm simply mad at myself for taking so long to update this lol. Still, I'm better now, and I'll hopefully keep better track of updating from now on!
> 
> With that, I hope that you all enjoyed this update. Feedback is as always welcomed and appreciated, and I hope you all have a fantastical day.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bit of an idea I've had for awhile now. I already know where to go with it, as for how long it'll be, I don't know just yet lmao. 
> 
> I just hope yall enjoyed the first chapter! Feedback is welcomed and appreciated, and I hope you all have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening!


End file.
